Connect (and Re-Connect) with Members of Your Networking Groups

How? Subscribe, Share, Co-author, Ask and Introduce.

You probably are a member of several professional membership organizations and formal networking groups.

How do you interact with these colleagues on a one-on-one basis between meetings?

Start by connecting with each one on LinkedIn; also consider Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram and other social media platforms, as appropriate.

Plus, remember the informal and virtual groups you’ve joined – the same approach applies.

Here are 11 ways to strengthen your ties to the members — individually and within the group:

  1. Subscribe to (read and comment on) their newsletters – and invite them to subscribe to yours;
  2. Notify them of potential clients seeking resources and services;
  3. Share opportunities to submit articles for publication and speak to reporters;
  4. Co-author an article in an industry publication;
  5. Ask them about best practices that you can reference in an article, newsletter or LinkedIn essay; acknowledge their suggestions with links to their websites.
  6. Comment meaningfully on their LinkedIn posts and articles;
  7. Introduce them to other contacts who have an aligned interest;
  8. Send an announcement of an event or webinar, article or podcast;
  9. Schedule a get-acquainted chat or a periodic check-in phone call to consider how you might help each other;
  10. Encourage them to host your workshop for their contacts to learn and network;
  11. Invite them to attend your speaking engagements.

This Month’s Tip

Make a list of your professional membership organizations, networking groups, LinkedIn groups and other communities. Peruse the membership directory and cross-check those names in your LinkedIn network. If you are not yet connected, compose a connection request to introduce yourself, citing your mutual association. (Note: I am currently engaged in this outreach with a 90-member virtual group; about one-half have accepted my invitation.)

When you are already connected on LinkedIn, and it has been a while since your last interaction, get a meaningful conversation started using these prompts.

 

See also: Your Gold Mine of 5,000 Contacts, Grasp the Hidden Power of Your Networking Group and Everyone Knows Someone Worth Knowing.

Contact

Ready to create a stronger professional bond and extend your relationship with your in-person and virtual networks? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com , set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s develop a calendar to (re-)connect with your fellow networkers.

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Image credit: Christina Morillo

Your FREEBIE is Valuable to Your Prospects

A giveaway delivers contact information to potential clients.

Are you looking for a way to get prospective clients interested in learning more about your services?

Many websites offer a FREE giveaway to engage with potential clients. These FREEBIES might be an informative Top 10 Tips, a checklist or a quiz, available in exchange for an email address (perhaps also a mailing address and phone number). The prospect is emailed a link to a document that may be downloaded from the website. Or there may be a link to a podcast recording or video.

The more your giveaway aligns with the needs of your target market, the more likely prospects will sign up to receive the FREEBIE.

The giveaway features insights or guidance, as well as your email address, phone number and website URL for subsequent contact, on an appropriate sheet bearing your logo and branded design.

You can add the contact’s information to your database, then plan for subsequent follow-up with a phone call or an invitation to an event. Or you may subscribe them to your email newsletter, because email is the most effective way to engage customers.

The marketing term of art for this giveaway is a lead magnet. Digital marketing professionals calculate that placing a lead magnet on a website may convert into leads up to 25% of all visitors who would otherwise abandon a website.

The most frequently offered giveaways are:

  • Articles that explain how to do an activity
  • Best practices to DO
  • Best practices to NOT DO
  • Calendar
  • Top 10 Tips
  • Worksheet

Where on your website might you place the offer of the giveaway? On the home page and on any other relevant pages. Or a pop-up that appears thirty seconds or longer after a prospect lands on the website. (The delay gives the visitor time to confirm that this is indeed the website and the resource she was seeking.)

There are standard web forms to request a giveaway that can easily be incorporated into your website. When setting them up, be sure to include a thank you to the prospect for requesting the material. Also, you may indicate the best way to keep in touch if there are questions regarding the content.

When you receive notification that someone has requested the giveaway, schedule a time to follow-up by email or phone in order to learn about the situation, need or problem of the prospective client.

This Month’s Tip

Your giveaway can keep on giving. Once prospects receive the link to the giveaway, or download the freebie, it is easy for them to share it with their colleagues and other contacts. This results in a wider distribution. Even if you may not know where the giveaway has been sent, by using a link shorten-er, you can track the number of subsequent clicks.

Contact

What inspiring ideas or tested tips might you share to get prospective clients interested in learning more about your services? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com , set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s create your giveaway and give it a go.

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Image credit: ahsan

Why You Should Co-Lead a Workshop with a Colleague

Collaboration yields up-to-the-minute content and conversation.

Speaking is one of the five best ways to attract new business. In a workshop setting, for example, you and your colleague demonstrate mastery of the subject matter and analyze successful projects. Your presentation also entices attendees to hire you, so they might achieve similar results for their organization.

Plus, it’s beneficial when your co-leader is a client, who will attest to the value and impact of your services.

Consider teaming up with a colleague in an allied field, or someone whose business aligns with that of the session’s participants.

Co-presenting offers several advantages to a solo session:

  1. Speakers of different professions attract a wider audience; attendees may connect better with the person who shares their background.
  2. Collaborating lightens the burden of developing and giving the entire presentation.
  3. You will gain access to timely knowledge and insights of another profession, while preparing the material.
  4. You will capitalize on the co-presenter’s existing relationship with the event host, or further ingratiate yourself if you are the connector.

Recently, I collaborated on two different workshops to groups of attorneys; my partners were networking contacts.

One session was a reprise of a webinar on media relations that patent attorney Patricia Werschulz and I had developed. After I proposed the topic to the webinar producer, I invited Werschulz, whom I had met at a networking event, to co-lead the presentation. In my segments, I explained the nuts and bolts of professionally introducing oneself to reporters and the how-tos of press releases. in her sections, Werschulz discussed ethics and the Rules of Professional Conduct that applied to interaction with the media. Her remarks qualified the presentation for Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits, a magnet for attorneys who must log CLE credits every two years. Following that webinar, Werschulz and I have given the presentation as an in-person workshop three more times.

The second workshop, which I had previously led four times for professionals at financial, public relations and start-up companies, focused on networking. When customizing this speaking engagement for attorneys, I recruited Kimberly Rice, editor of the monthly publication Marketing the Law Firm, to which I have contributed articles for five years. I presented a unique pre-event marketing strategy for attendees at networking events. Rice covered ethics and the Rules of Professional Conduct relevant to networking, again for CLE. In addition, she shared best practices in marketing of particular interest to attorneys from a small law firm or with a solo practice.

Here’s why Werschulz and Rice agreed to co-present:

Werschulz: “I wanted to learn more about the subject matter of ethics and media relations, so I had to research my part of the presentation. I also had the opportunity to learn from my co-presenter. Every time I present or teach, my network expands with new potential sources of referrals.”

Rice: “I enjoy presenting to different audiences of qualified, targeted prospects whose interests align with my expertise. I was curious about New York City lawyers and found they were a bit more engaged than audiences in other parts of the country. Working with the New York County Lawyers Association will perhaps open the door for future speaking opportunities.“

Collaborating on a speaking engagement is a win-win all the way around. You and your colleague gain mastery of new material as you promote your respective expertise and services. Both of you also access new markets of potential clients and referral sources, as well as an organization to host subsequent programs. Your audience receives proven tips, best practices and up-to-date insights on industry trends.

This Month’s Tip

Your partner for a speaking engagement may be a client, a referral source or a networking contact:

  • Propose a workshop collaboration to someone whose experience aligns with the attendees and offers a counterpoint to your own business.
  • The paired perspectives will provide a more comprehensive view and may include technical aspects of a different field that are less familiar to you, yet vital to the audience.
  • The interplay between two speakers –- when one asks the other a question, for example –- enlivens the session and keeps the participants engaged.

Contact

Ready to create your own workshop with a colleague? Let’s brainstorm some hot topics and consider who might best share the podium with you. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com , set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s discuss who you might tap to join your presentation team.

See also Do You Lead Workshops for Free?, Back to School — As a Teacher and Create Your Own Traveling Classroom.

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It’s Showtime!

Seven lessons for guests on a podcast interview.

Recently, I was interviewed by podcaster Bruce Eckfeldt of Scaling Up Services. The 30-minute podcast discussion focused on Essential Tools for Public Relations Success. Listen to this session or read the summary for tips on media relations, websites and newsletters.

Surprisingly, an online search of podcast interview tips reveals far fewer pointers for guests as compared to the numerous suggestions for hosts. Therefore, consider these lessons when you are invited for a podcast interview:

  1. Assemble a list of topics you and the interviewer have agreed to discuss. Print this list in 16-point font for ease of reading each topic. Only you will see the list; it will not be on camera.
  2. Think of how to illustrate these ideas with examples or anecdotes, so the concepts will become clearer to the listener.
  3. Spice up your language to make your remarks memorable. Use acronyms, alliteration, visual imagery, puns and references to pop culture to keep the tone lively.
  4. When you offer a series of points, circle back to summarize them, thereby reinforcing the sequence.
  5. Think of the questions in the interview as a string of pearls. Prepare the answer to every question in the list of topics as if it were an extended elevator pitch, each one a beautiful, rounded reply.
  6. Finally, watch out for filler speech. As you present your insights, you may say fillers like um, uh or you know. The recommended remedy is to take a pause in your speech and not say anything. This pause permits you to catch up with the thoughts racing through your mind and formulate how to convey them to the audience.

This Month’s Tip

Conduct a mock session with a colleague before you appear on the podcast. Record it on a smartphone or tablet, so you can review it, critique it and improve your performance.

See also COPE: How Writing Can Re-Broadcast Your Audio, How YOU Can Be a Podcast Guest and Use Reverse Engineering to Book More Podcast Spots.

Contact

Ready for your podcast interview? Let’s develop some topics and questions, enhance them with examples and toss in some lively language. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com , set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141 and let’s get your show on the road.

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Photo credit: Michael Meyer

Check the Calendar Before Scheduling an Event

Maximize participation by paying attention to holidays.

You may recall I’ve advised that a story idea pitched to a reporter may become more timely by pegging it to a date on the calendar at least one month ahead. Some examples are:

  • secular celebrations (Memorial Day, Boston Marathon);
  • cyclical events (elections, Oscars);
  • anniversaries (9/11, Hurricane Maria);
  • and National Whatever Month.

Perhaps you noticed this list does not mention religious holidays; that was deliberate. Religious holidays may be fixed (December 25) or float according to lunar calculations, so it’s vital to check the calendar to avoid scheduling a gathering on such a day.

Accordingly, when planning an event, consider the opposite of the linking scenario; keep an eye on dates that might be detrimental to attendance.

In recent weeks, I was invited to three programs — a networking breakfast and two webinars – all on Wednesday, September 19. FYI, Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for Jews, was celebrated on that date in 2018.

As soon as I realized I was unable to participate in these gatherings, I contacted the organizer of each event and explained the overlap. I asked about re-scheduling the networking breakfast (which was five weeks later and had not yet been announced) and about receiving a recording of the webinars. The email also included a link to a Jewish calendar, so that the host might check it when planning another event.

Here are the replies:

From the host of the networking breakfast: “Thanks for the heads up — I will do my best to reschedule.”

From the Director of Sales & Events at the first webinar host: “Apologies for the oversight and thank you for pointing this out! We will certainly make note for future events. We are a diverse and inclusive company with absolutely no intention of shutting anyone out. The webinar will be recorded and the slides will be available to download later.”

From the Director of Marketing at the second webinar host: “[Company] tries their best to work around schedules including those of the presenters and staff, but we will be sure to keep all religious calendars in mind for future scheduling.”

These polite responses are appreciated and surely the scheduling conflict was inadvertent. Yet, it would have been so simple to check the calendar in advance to make sure the proposed date did not coincide with a religious holiday or other observance.

If there is an overlap with such a date, and the significance of a religious holiday is unfamiliar, the host should consult the appropriate clergy or someone knowledgeable to learn whether or not the holiday observance will interfere with a business event.

For example, many Christians worship in church on Ash Wednesday; this holy day is celebrated in February or March, according to the lunar calendar. After a holiday mass, these observers go to work as usual. Apparently, there is no conflict with holding a mid-morning, lunch, afternoon or evening program on that day.

In addition, it may be wise to note when corporate announcements by competitors are expected. No technology industry activities are held on a day when Apple plans to introduce a product, because all eyes are on that announcement event.

As a service to her clients, at the beginning of each year, Dottie Jeffries, a Public Relations colleague who is not Jewish, emails them a list of the dates of the principal Jewish holidays (Passover, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur), as well as a few other days of religious observance. This helps her clients mark their calendars in advance and they are most appreciative of her reminder.

This Month’s Tip

Make it easy to find an available date on the calendar by blocking out federal and state holidays, plus days of religious observance. Here are links to religious calendars; adherents of these five religions account for 66% of the US population:

Contact

At what stage in planning an event should you check the calendar? As soon as possible, to ensure the maximum attendance. If you need help with scheduling, call me at 347.256.9141, set an appointment here or email me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com. Let’s not allow a conflict with a holiday rain on the parade of your successful event.

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This discussion has been lightly edited for evergreen content.

What’s in Your LinkedIn Profile’s Background?

Make that space work for you.

Because LinkedIn is the world’s biggest database, it is imperative that your profile be clear, concise and compelling.

One visual element of your LinkedIn profile is the background behind your photo. Based on research on how best to manage this valuable piece of real estate, most people under-utilize this promotional area and fail to highlight their skills and personal brand.

Surprisingly, career coaches considered by peers as leaders in the field of LinkedIn guidance, and even graphic designers, are deficient in deploying their LinkedIn background to their advantage.

Which of these best describes your LinkedIn profile background?

    • Gray LinkedIn default background: You’re a LinkedIn coach and you have not changed the background! Pshaw.
    • City landscape: Wow. You work in NAME OF CITY! I visited there. How does that location make you excel at resolving my financial issues?
    • Podium photo or jam-packed photo montage of person speaking at events: You speak to groups? So do I. Does that mean you have insight into my company’s operational issues?
    • Stock photo of people in a room: I have employees, too. Who are these folks and how do your best practices in personnel management relate to my problems with staff burnout?
    • Company logo: I have a company logo. And, what comes next?

You get the idea. Keep away from these stereotypical formats.

Your LinkedIn background should captivatingly indicate the services you offer, how they align with the reader’s situation, and how she can get in touch with you to learn more.

LinkedIn instructs you how to change the background, so be creative. Use the space to your benefit.

Look at two profiles that are distinctive: Beth Granger of New York and Marc Miller of Texas. Click to see how each neatly summarizes their services — and even displays their email address and phone number, making it irresistibly easy to reach out to them on the spot.

Now, let’s look at YOUR LinkedIn background.

If it is the default gray, you now know you can do better. (Don’t feel badly. Plenty of graphic designers have yet to change from the blue background.)

A sidebar — if your employer has mandated that you use the company logo as a brand ambassador, that’s part of being a team member, so follow the rules.

To those who have a city landscape, speaker podium photo or stock photo as the background, consider the proactive approach outlined here.

  1. Reinforce the search terms and keywords that may have led a potential prospect or referral source to look for you on LinkedIn.
  2. Display that text artfully and incorporate your contact information into the layout.
  3. Finally, check to make sure the background reads well on a tablet, where your photo is displayed in the middle and not in the lower left corner.

Then, when a new visitor arrives at your profile, you confirm that you are who you say. By prominently posting your website URL, email and phone, you are immediately accessible. A call to action is implied.

(Drum roll) Here’s my LinkedIn profile with the new background. Please let me know what you think and whether my design aligns with the above recommendations.

This Month’s Tip

Get the LinkedIn background format for the DIY-er. Open a free account on Canva; here is a LinkedIn background template, plus there are formats for other social media platforms. Experiment with different text, fonts, colors and images. When you are ready, save the file; then have a design professional review and polish your work for viewing on a computer and on a tablet.

Contact

Ready to graduate from default LinkedIn? Call me at 347.256.9141, set an appointment here or email me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com. Let’s brainstorm the words and ideas for text, plus elements, that will make your profile’s customized background stand out from the crowd.

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See also Close-up of Your Digital Portrait and Three Steps for More Success on LinkedIn

Note: This newsletter was published in September 2018. LinkedIn changed its default background in 2020; the image and text have been updated accordingly.

Up with Referrals! Down with Word-of-Mouth.

Be deliberate, not random, with contacts in your network.

You keep in touch with industry colleagues, current or former clients and business contacts, among others.

You’ve worked to establish and maintain relationships with all of them. They subscribe to your newsletter; they serve on a committee with you; you see them periodically at events. You even comment on their posts on LinkedIn and Twitter.

All to stay top of mind for that next referral.

For example, at Claudine’s suggestion, you met with Bernadette a few months ago. Bernie is on the board of a family-owned company. She mentioned your services to the other directors and the company has hired you.

Congratulations! Give yourself the credit you deserve. That is a referral from your network. That is not word-of-mouth.

Labeling that new business word-of-mouth degrades it, in my view. This new client did not materialize out of thin air on your doorstep in some random fashion. This project is not a gift from the universe.

You made a connection and you earned the project.

Trace the steps that led to this new assignment. Next, reinforce the process with an appropriate acknowledgment to the intermediate contact(s) who facilitated it. For example, I invite the referral source to lunch, so we may become better acquainted away from our phones. As for the referrer who lives in another city, a gift card to a well-known retailer is always welcome.

Now, during the slow summer season, take a closer look at your network and re-invigorate your connections, especially those who are potential referral sources.

First, combine all your contacts in one place. (See Your Gold Mine of 5,000 Contacts)

Then, classify them by priority, in terms of the strength of your relationship.

Set a calendar to daily call FIVE people by phone.

In that conversation of five or ten minutes, learn what is new in their world. Listen, without self-promotion or sales talk. After  you set a date to meet or resume your chat, you can check that name as complete and move on to the next person.

What do you say to these dormant contacts? Write a script: use these prompts to get started, then ask for a conversation of five or ten minutes to catch up.

  • Your name came to mind in a review of contacts.
  • Your business card re-surfaced.
  • The news about _____ reminded me of you.
  • Someone asked me about a _______ professional, so I thought of you.
  • An article about _______ made me think of you.
  • According to LinkedIn, you are now (at new company) (in new role). Congratulations!

Keep yourself visible and you will be the preferred source for that network contact and the many people in their network.

Consider: there is a new project that you could manage and someone is going to get it. Business does not go away; it goes to someone else who was top-of-mind. Be proactive and referrals, not word-of-mouth, will lead to your success.

This Month’s Tip

Best practice in leaving a phone number. When the contact is not available, leave a voice message according to a variation on your script. Be sure to mention that you are in the office today and tomorrow and you would love to hear from them. Write your phone number as words – three-four-seven-two-five-six-nine-one-four-one – and then slowly read it. This method will keep you from reciting the number faster than someone can write it down.

Contact

Ready to review your list of prime network contacts? Call me at 347.256.9141, set an appointment here or email Janet@JanetLFalk.com. Let’s polish your script, practice some calls and rev up your referrals.

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Word-of-mouth image courtesy of On-Hold Marketing.
Thanks to David A. Fields, whose latest book, The Irresistible Consultant’s Guide to Winning Clients, provided food for thought.

WII-FM? Why Should a Dentist, Landlord or Supermarket Clerk Care About Your Nonprofit or Business?

Look beyond your target market.

Every nonprofit counts on clients, volunteers, funders and local elected officials among the groups with whom they stay in touch.

In addition to these audiences, businesses might add prospects, referral sources and membership/trade associations.

Each target market has a reason to be interested in the company or nonprofit organization.

Let’s not take any of these audiences for granted. Daily, you can find reasons why they should care about what your nonprofit or business might do for them.

Now, what about the people outside those circles, those who know nothing about what you offer?

Take the dentist, who is well-educated and also a business owner.
Or the typical landlord, who is budget-minded.
Or a supermarket clerk, working the cash register all day.

Perhaps none of them have heard of your group or business and they are not likely to immediately connect with your news or promotional information.

Why should this person care about you?

In fact, that’s the same question a reporter will ask whenever you suggest an idea for a news article or an interview.

On the world’s greatest radio station WII-FM, also known as What’s In It For Me?, the focus is on what the individual or society might gain.

It’s crucial that you find a way for these indifferent folks to connect to your group or company, so they, personally — or the community as a whole — will perceive a benefit and save time, save money or make more money as a result.

  • A dentist might consider that your local economic development group will attract larger businesses (with a greater number of employees needing dental care) to the neighborhood;
  • A landlord might think the youth who attend your organization’s GED programs may get better jobs and thus be more reliable tenants;
  • A supermarket clerk’s neighbor might need advice on managing legal and medical issues for an elderly parent.

The dentist, landlord or clerk may not have a direct need for what you offer, yet they and the community may indirectly benefit in the long term from your services — or even refer someone who is in your target market.

This Month’s Tip

Look at the bigger picture from the perspective of people in these three occupations. What is their desire or need in the community? For themselves? For their business? Which are the most pressing issues for them regarding time and money? Invite a dentist, landlord or clerk for a coffee chat, ask these questions and listen as you put yourself in her shoes.

Contact

Ready to brainstorm about how a dentist, landlord or clerk might view your company or nonprofit? Call me at 347.256.9141, set an appointment here or email me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com. Let’s find ways to contact these members of the public and have them connect with you.

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Image courtesy of David M. Masters.

Use the Calendar to Set (and Re-Set) Communication Goals

Check your progress at mid-year.

Have you set Communication goals for your business this year? Goals that might include developing a newsletter, blogging, speaking, doing media outreach?

Yes, these are daunting activities; many business executives focus more on the day-to-day operations of getting things done than on the bigger Communication picture.

Here are some ideas to address:

  1. Have you launched or continued a newsletter?
  2. Is your blog current? Are you blogging regularly?
  3. Have you written an article for the blog of another company, LinkedIn or Medium.com?
  4. Have you published an article in an industry publication that prospective clients read?
  5. Have you spoken at an industry conference or a networking group?
  6. Have you connected with reporters who cover the market sectors for which your insights are most relevant?
  7. Have you circulated that news story in which you were quoted?

If you did set goals, the end of the second quarter is a good time to reassess. Consider where you stand with the goals you outlined. Is it appropriate to KEEP them, DROP them, MODIFY or SET NEW GOALS?

If you didn’t set goals, you still have time to do so now.

Pause to look at the big picture.

This Month’s Tip

Make an appointment with yourself to address one of these Communication goal questions each day for the next week. As a reminder, when setting a Communication goal, the acronym S M A R T guides you to successful completion of the goal. This list integrates several versions of S M A R T:
Specific – Rather than contact the media, commit to email two reporters each week to introduce myself as a source for comment.
Meaningful – Understand why this goal is important to you.
Action Oriented – Develop steps to help you arrive at this goal.
Realistic – Assemble your resources – knowledge, funding, technology – to ensure you will reach this goal.
Timely – Set a date when you will complete this goal.

Contact

Don’t go it alone. To help you (and myself) get a better handle on setting goals, I’m creating an accountability group where each person is accountable to the group on a monthly basis and to a partner on a weekly basis. Frequent check-ins and peer pressure spur members to work towards their individual goals and to support their peers. If this approach appeals to you, contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, book an appointment here or call me at 2347.256.9141. Let’s count on each other as we work to meet our respective Communication goals.

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As You Like It, Please Say Why

When you comment on posts on LinkedIn and Twitter, indicate how others may benefit from the discussion.

Your LinkedIn feed is composed of an assortment of updates that your many connections have posted, liked, shared or commented upon. Your Twitter feed is filled with tweets from your followers and the people you follow. For now, let’s focus on LinkedIn.

The LinkedIn algorithm distributes updates selectively to individuals in that connection’s network. Based on the amount of engagement the post initially receives, LinkedIn assesses your interests and other factors before sending it to your feed.

Accordingly, when you agree with and like another’s LinkedIn post, how can you make the most of this opportunity — that is, make it work for you?

Take the time to respond to the person and the discussion, as you like it. That means, as soon as you click the like thumbs up icon , COMMENT to indicate:

  • what you agree or disagree with
  • how this confirms or disproves the trend
  • what the discussion overlooks
  • how this relates to another topic or lesson learned
  • why this is or is not a best practice
  • or any other interesting aspect.

Perhaps you see your connection Morgan’s name appears above a post by someone you do not know; she wrote So true. Will that comment make you read the original author’s update or click on the link to an article? I doubt it. With all the other items in the feed and on your desk vying for your attention, a nominal comment is not sufficiently compelling.

I once took issue and commented upon a post by a LinkedIn coach, John Nemo. Another reader agreed with me in her reply and later contacted me to continue the conversation. We became acquainted by phone and she referred a client to me.

How would that referral have happened had I merely commented with a bland Thank you?

Check your LinkedIn feed now and see whether or not the commenters have written an insight that adds to the conversation.

For example, LinkedIn author Viveka von Rosen recently posted about the new guidelines for a profile’s background image. Her post had 130+ Likes and 25 Comments (as of this writing). If you are a connection of hers (or of her commenters), you may see the post. Here are the replies (anonymously) and the respective number of each category of comment:

  • Thank you, Great or variation, plus reply by author: 17
  • Name of another connection, look at this: 3
  • Question: 1 and reply by commenter: 1
  • Observation of overlooked point: 1 and reply by commenter: 1
  • Link to related discussion by author: 1

Notice that the first 20 of the 25 comments (80%) are meaningless to the broader LinkedIn universe.

How does Great, or posting the name of another contact, add to a fruitful conversation? Does Thank you create the basis for professional social media activity?

Not at all. That’s why I repeat:

As you like it, please say WHY, so others may be persuaded that they will benefit from reading the article or post. That is the approach of the two commenters above who asked a question or pointed out another aspect, to which other readers and the author responded.

Looking back, my LinkedIn activity used to be contrary to this practice. If I had an observation or disagreement with a post, and I was already connected to the author, I would let her know privately by email.

From now on, I will share at least one observation/ comment/ question on LinkedIn every time I check my account. I urge you to do the same and, of course, never write an impact-less “Thank you.”

In the past, if I wanted to share something with a certain connection, I did so via email, not by naming them in a comment.

Surprise. I will continue this email practice. Many people do not check their LinkedIn accounts daily and so may overlook an interesting article. Even when LinkedIn sends an email, your connections may be more likely to read a discussion via an email from someone they know. It is also possible to copy the link to the post, go to the intended recipient’s profile and send them the link via a message. You can decide which tactic works best for you.

This Month’s Tip

Make an appointment with yourself to check your LinkedIn account and take the temperature of the discussions underway. Whether you check your own feed for update posts and articles by your connections or review discussions in groups, set aside time at least once a week.

Look for best practices, news and interesting content in your profession or industry on other social media platforms. When you find something notable, post it as a LinkedIn update or on Twitter, and comment in a meaningful way that embellishes the discussion, re-directs it or underscores its impact, as noted above.

Contact

Don’t be lukewarm on LinkedIn; do not mechanically re-tweet on Twitter. SAY WHY this caught your eye. Let’s take a test drive through some of the articles and posts in your LinkedIn and Twitter feeds. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, book an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s discuss how to sharpen and share your comments on LinkedIn and Twitter; you’ll add to the discussion and raise your profile as a thoughtful and insightful observer.

Click here to read prior issues of this newsletter.

Click here to subscribe to this monthly newsletter and make sure you don’t miss the next issue.

Thanks to colleague Bruce Segall, whose LinkedIn post inspired this discussion and also for his suggestions.

How Can You Attract More Visitors to a Destination?

Stage photos strategically.

A brochure promoting a self-guided tour of Roosevelt Island, my New York City neighborhood, touts its expansive vistas. Yet the accompanying photo is a promenade without a single person taking in the fabulous view of the skyline.

Who wants to go to a place where there are no people?

Consider the examples in the left column, similar to those used in the brochure. Not one of the photos features people enjoying themselves in the setting, while those in the right column do. Which shot makes you wish to visit?

This Month’s Tip

Photos of a destination appear barren and forlorn without visitors. Putting people in photos will attract and retain the reader’s attention. It will lead her to imagine herself on the scene and ideally prompt a visit to your destination.

When possible, take your own photos and have participants sign a release. This free standardized form is valid in the specified state. Visitors may be willing to pose for you, but it may be easiest to recruit employees and family members to participate in the photograph. When children are to be featured, follow the requirements of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule.

When stock photos are used, note that the business that owns the image may place limitations on the format or medium where an image is incorporated (brochure, website, advertising), period of time (one year or unlimited) and geography (domestic or international). Here is a basic primer. A sales rep at a stock photo agency or a graphic designer will guide you.

Contact

Have visitors and customers fled the scene in your photos? Make sure the images on your website and in your printed materials are appropriately populated. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, book an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s put a smile on your reader’s face when she sees a person in your photos.

Click here to read prior issues of this newsletter.

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(This discussion has been lightly edited for updated content.)
Photo credits:
L: Roosevelt Island Promenade (Credit: NYCGo.com); R: East River Promenade (Credit: NYC Parks)
L and R: Eleanor’s Pier (Credit: Roosevelt Islander Online)
L: Four Freedoms Park (Credit: TripAdvisor.se); R: Four Freedoms Park (Credit: Rob Cleary)

Your Annual Report is Not Dead.

It is re-formatted.

A Public Relations professional declared the annual report dead, to the shock of attendees at the workshop Pathways to Excellence: Excellence in Communications held by the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee (NPCC) on February 23, 2018.

A second panelist concurred that it was not helpful for a nonprofit organization to narrate events and programs that had occurred between 12 and 18 months prior to the publication date.

I respectfully disagree. For those supporters who have come into the fold, say, in the past three months, the range of activities and successes previously conducted by the nonprofit probably are beyond their horizon. In fact, new supporters may be even more impressed to be brought up to date on the full range of achievements of the prior year.

If the annual report is dead, and is not to be produced, it’s time for the nonprofit to devise — and revise — other communication vehicles to ensure that newer supporters are fully informed about the breadth and depth of programs and services.

How might these communications be best achieved?

  • Create a Get to Know XYZ as an informative one-sheet or brochure.
  • Post the current and prior issues of the newsletter on the website (see below).
  • Provide periodic updates to programs and success stories featured on the website. For example, in the discussion of a training course, note that a graduate, who was hired after completing an internship at a tech company, was recently promoted.
  • Gather posts shared on Facebook and X (Twitter) as a timeline.
  • Keep your recent conference current. Revise notices of upcoming events upon completion by adding summaries of research, panels, results and impacts.
  • Amplify news articles about the organization with photos, videos and updates of the latest activity.
  • Take photos of services and programs in action, either live or staged; assemble the images in a video and add a voiceover.
  • Aggregate the essential financial data as pie charts: income, grants and donations in the first and program, overhead and salaries in another.
  • Finally, all these materials should be housed on the website and periodically shared on social media.

Your organization has a wealth of content that is both time-sensitive and evergreen. Transform any potentially date-driven material so it is current and timeless. Added together, you conduct a periodic review of the highlights and achievements of the year, quarter or month without calling it a traditional annual report.

This Month’s Tip

Share your newsletter. Nearly all of the attendees at a workshop on newsletters I taught at NPCC published a newsletter. Yet 90% of them did not post it on their website. Are you hiding your newsletter from people who want to learn about your organization? Making all your newsletters available is a no-cost way to promote your group’s programs, services and successes throughout the year, regardless of publication date. Each one should have a link for readers to easily view previous issues. Also, categorize or tag them to facilitate search for a specific topic.

Contact

Ready to re-format your annual report? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, book an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141 to look beyond the calendar or fiscal year. Instead, let’s aggregate the steady flow of communications that broadcast your activities and achievements all year long.

Click here to read prior issues of this newsletter.

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Is Your Company’s Launch a Secret?

Raise the flag wherever you can.

Three partners in a small business discussed the launch of their new enterprise. One wanted to hire a web designer to craft a new website. One of the others disagreed, asking why a website was necessary. The third partner was on the fence and preferred to focus on client work.

Is there a good reason to keep your company’s launch a secret? This is the question I encouraged the pro-website partner to ask her colleagues. Rather than be viewed as a spendthrift for taking on marketing expense, turn the tables and ask the partners to justify their reluctance to invest in promotion of their company.

Here are the basics I recommend when launching a business:

  1. Company website: This is the first place any prospective client or referral source looks to confirm your existence and find out more about your services, products and programs. If you do not have a website, you effectively are invisible. Very few people who do not already know you will take you seriously if you do not have an attractive and persuasive web presence.
  2. LinkedIn profile: Perhaps this is the second place that people will search for more details about your background. LinkedIn is the world’s largest directory of professionals with 530 million members (as of January 2018). Consider your profile a marketing vehicle and make a compelling case for selecting you as a resource.
  3. LinkedIn Company page: Many small businesses and service providers are unfamiliar with this opportunity for yet another FREE online presence. Use this page to share your reports and company news.
  4. Press Release to industry publications, as well as alumni magazines: These newsletters often have a dedicated column for new market participants.
  5. Announcement to industry media of your target customers: If you operate an accounting firm that advises veterinarians, for example, introduce your business and its principals. An Executive Media Profile presents a professional as a source for comment on trends and issues in that market to the reporters and editors of the veterinarian industry publications that prospective clients read.
  6. Email signature: Compose a standard email signature for all members of the company. It should include office and cellphone numbers, website URL, tag line and, as appropriate, notice of a recent news article about your business or an upcoming event. Use this FREE real estate to promote your successes and new offerings. Link to your personal LinkedIn profile and/or Company LinkedIn page.
  7. Facebook company page: Post updates, articles, newsletters and news items here. Create a Twitter account as well.
  8. Newsletter: Compose a quarterly communiqué to advise your current clients, referral sources, peers and contacts of new offerings, best practices, trends and related insights. Add this link to your email signature. As you become more adept with the format, consider making it a monthly commentary.

This Month’s Tip

Everyone should review these tools and accounts in an Annual Communications Audit. Approach various social media platforms from the perspective of someone who is not familiar with your company and services. Where might they look for information (website, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter)? What would they find there? Is the content current (timeless or within the last week)? Take a few minutes to check the latest entries on your LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter accounts, and others that your audiences visit. If several months have passed, your profile and activity may appear outdated to a newcomer, so post a new item and schedule a reminder to post at least once a week.

Contact

Don’t let your new (or current) business be the best kept secret! Use ALL the available resources to introduce your company and keep its name, executives and services top of mind. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, book an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141 to make sure you are seen in the appropriate places as open and ready for business.

Click here to read prior issues of this newsletter.

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Improve Your Networking: Problem and Solution Questions (3 of 3)

Ask questions that allow respondents to brag.

You have shifted your networking attitude to focus on YOU, the other person, and become a curator of resources.

You’ve executed a pre-event marketing plan to build a welcoming committee among the officers of the host organization. At the networking event, you’ve asked them to tell you more about the organization and themselves.

Now it’s time to become acquainted with other event attendees, by posing get-to-know-you Problem and Solution Questions:

How do you help people (or companies): save time, save money, make more money or get more joy from life?

  • Most businesses offer products and services that save time or money. Or perhaps they build wealth for individuals and companies. Consider that a spa owner or a restaurateur brings joy, enhancing one’s leisure time. Asking this question helps you learn more about the new contact.

What was the highlight of the past year (quarter) for you in helping a client?

  • This gives the speaker an opportunity to brag. Make it clear you want to know what the person (not the team) did for a client, something that would not have occurred without her role.

That sounds hard. How do you do that?

  • Ask this question about any aspect to prompt the contact to provide more specifics and explain the process.

Who are you looking to meet (here)?

  • As a curator of resources, you will likely have a suggestion for an introduction to a potential vendor or client, or even someone else in the room.

How might I be a resource to you?

  • This opens the door for you to follow up with the contact, by sharing a newsletter you wrote, an article you read or an invitation to a meeting.

This Month’s Tip

Posing Problem and Solution Questions will highlight the types of issues that the respondent likes to tackle, the approaches she offers and the clients she targets. Based on the answers, you may determine how this person meshes with your contacts and resources. If you simply want to chat, ask “Are you originally from Name of City?” That straight-forward inquiry may lead to all sorts of talk about what brought the person to this city — or perhaps why they stayed local — and you can find common ground from there.

Contact

This may be your first time at an event held by an organization, or perhaps you might be a frequent attendee. Either way, asking problem and solution questions will yield pathways for further exploration and strengthen your connection to the acquaintance you meet. Contact me at 347.256.9141, set an appointment here or email me janet@janetlfalk.com. Let’s consider some groups where you can meet new contacts and build your resources.

This is the third in a series of three newsletters about Networking. The first discussed an attitude of focusing on YOU, the person to whom you might be a resource and who, in turn, might be a resource for your contacts. The second outlined a pre-event marketing strategy to contact the leaders of an industry or membership organization in advance of a networking event. Use these tips in combination to strengthen your networking skills.

Click here to request the e-book Three Lessons to Improve Your Networking Success.

Click here to read prior issues of this newsletter.

Click here to subscribe to this monthly newsletter and make sure you don’t miss the next issue.

Thanks to Tiffany Ashitey and Tasha Morris of The Benchmark Creative Group. Their invitation to speak at Brooklyn Marketing Week was the impetus to crystallize my approach to networking.

Improve Your Networking: Pre-event Marketing (2 of 3)

Introduce yourself and ask others to introduce you.

Now that you have shifted your networking attitude (It’s not about ME. It IS about YOU.), let’s put this approach into practice. Consider an upcoming networking event held by an industry or professional association where you plan to meet potential referral sources.

Here is a pre-event marketing strategy that will help you will maximize your attendance at the event, keeping the focus on YOU, meaning the movers and shakers of the organization.

After you register for the event, visit the website of the membership organization. Assemble a list of the officers, committee chairs and board members, including their email addresses. If an email is not readily available, you can send a connection request via their LinkedIn profile.

One week before the event, write an introductory email or LinkedIn message to each leader with the subject line: Will you attend the Networking Cocktail on January 12? Describe your background and note your work with a related business, as shown in this example:

Leslie,
Your name came to my attention as an officer of the Local Accountants Organization.

I am a Public Relations professional who specializes in advising accountants.

Recently, I advised Excellent Accountants on various projects in media relations and client newsletters. I wish to learn more about the Local Accountants Organization and how, if I become a member, I might get involved in your activities.

Perhaps we can chat at the Networking Event; I’m excited to meet you and your colleagues.

Regards,
Your Name
Company website

The leaders of the organization will be thrilled to hear from you. More than half of them will respond with a big welcome. Why? Every business group wants to bring in new members, especially people who offer valuable, specialized experience that would benefit the members and the organization itself. Your email inspires confidence that you are a professional worth welcoming into the fold.

Reply warmly to the notes you receive. Indicate that you will wear a distinctive article of clothing, making it be easy for you both to find each other in a crowded room. Perhaps a woman wears an orange jacket and a man has a green tie. Your new contact is now equipped to seek you out at the event.

One hour before the event, review the names and LinkedIn profiles of the people you contacted and take notes on mutual areas of interest. This annotated list is your game plan.

When you arrive, ask the person at the registration desk where to find one or two of the people on your list. Remember to focus on YOU, not yourself, in conversation. Start by asking about the membership organization itself. Find out why they joined. Learn how they contribute to the group’s success. Only discuss yourself and your professional focus in passing. After you chat and collect their business cards, ask to meet one of the other leaders on your list.

Your new contact will gladly introduce you; this enhances their own stature in the other officer’s eyes. Imagine the group’s president thinking, “That Mary, she’s doing great, bringing in new members!” Review the names on your list and work the room to meet and be introduced to as many of the officers, board members and committee chairs as possible.

Afterwards, send a follow-up email and perhaps customize a LinkedIn connection request. Note how good it was to meet in person after your email correspondence. Say how much you enjoyed learning about the organization. If you decide to become a member, tell the contact they persuaded you to join. Of course, you are excited to see them at future events.

You should also write to anyone you did not meet, because they were chatting with others or did not attend. Let them know you joined the association. Suggest a one-on-one coffee chat, to learn how you might get involved in the group.

Your attitude and focus on YOU — the contacts and the association itself — will demonstrate that you align with the group. You share interests in the benefits of membership and future activities. This pre-event marketing practice will enhance your networking success and help you build a larger base of potential referral sources and, perhaps, even net some clients.

This Month’s Tip

At industry and professional membership associations, the key contacts are:

  • Program Chair: he is always eager for new workshops to keep members advised of trends and best practices, so propose a timely topic;
  • Communications Chair: she needs to fill the newsletter with engaging articles, so offer to write an insightful contribution;
  • Membership Chair: she knows everyone, so ask which members might find you a valuable resource;
  • Chair of any Committee, such as Finance, Marketing or Legal, that aligns with your profession;
  • Of course, President, Past President, President-elect: they have an agenda and you can help them achieve it.

Contact

The officers of membership associations are eager to meet prospective members, who offer new ideas for programs and initiatives, plus specialized backgrounds of a related profession. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, book an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s build your referral network by identifying some groups where you can get involved.

This is the second in a series of three newsletters about Networking. The first discussed an attitude of focusing on YOU, the person to whom you might be a resource and who, in turn, might be a resource for your contacts. The third will discuss get-to-know-you problem and solution questions that engage networking contacts.

Click here to request the e-book Three Lessons to Improve Your Networking Success.

Click here to read prior issues of this newsletter.

Click here to subscribe to this monthly newsletter and make sure you don’t miss the next issue.

Thanks to Tiffany Ashitey and Tasha Morris of The Benchmark Creative Group. Their invitation to speak at Brooklyn Marketing Week was the impetus to crystallize my approach to networking.

Improve Your Networking: Attitude (1 of 3)

Implement a new approach.

Go to your next networking event with this mantra in mind:

It’s not about ME.

It IS about YOU.

This means: do not put yourself at the forefront of the interaction after shaking hands with a woman you’ve met. Instead, focus on the person you’re speaking with, what her needs are and how she would interact with your contacts.

Imagine YOU, someone she might consult, perhaps to resolve tension with her landlord.

Consider YOU, the person to whom this woman might, for example, provide bookkeeping services.

Seat yourself at the hub of a wheel of professionals and specialists. In your travels, you collect information about those you meet. Then, you’re able to make recommendations and introductions. Do this selflessly, without considering the personal benefit you might derive from that initial or subsequent interaction.

Here’s how this change in attitude plays out at Networking events

  • Be seen as a connector/Recruit resources: A client recently asked if I knew someone who might conduct market research for his business. Yes, I do. I know five market research professionals. Two spoke with me and were very interested in the project.
  • Make introductions: If you know a networking contact is open to meeting a potential client or a potential resource, use your smartphone and dash off an email introducing the pair to each other on the spot.
  • Maintain contacts: I know Michael will attend a certain monthly group. We don’t have to email or speak in between events. We catch up in person.
  • Learn from the speaker: The presenter stands at the podium because she has specific and timely insights to share with others in the industry or the professional group. Listen up.
  • Stay up to date informally: A colleague has a new job. A company is expanding locally or nationally. There’s talk about a competitor losing market share. You’ll hear it through the grapevine. Use your antennae.
  • Be seen as in the know: Everyone wants to associate with insiders who have their finger on the pulse of the market. You can be that person.

All of these motivations speak to the mantra of keeping YOU (and not ME) at the center of your networking conversations.

Now, do I hope to meet prospective clients at networking events? YES.

Would I like to receive introductions and referrals? Absolutely.

These are not my primary objectives, however.

Getting referrals and meeting prospects are more likely to happen in follow-up activities outside the networking event, after others see you as knowledgeable and trustworthy. Serving as a resource establishes that expertise and builds that trust.

This Month’s Tip

Andrea Nierenberg, a renowned networking professional, suggests an approach of 2-2-2:

Attend two meetings of this group before you decide to join.
Meet two people at each event.
Arrange two post-event get-togethers.

Contact

Do you listen to WII-FM, the world’s greatest radio station, also known as What’s In It For Me? Perhaps it’s time to switch channels. Contact me at 347.256.9141, set an appointment here or email me at janet@janetlfalk.com and we’ll find some new networking groups where you can become involved and promote your role as a connector and resource.

This is the first in a series of three newsletters about Networking. The second will discuss pre-event marketing and the third will discuss get-to-know-you problem and solution questions that engage networking contacts.

Click here to request the e-book Three Lessons to Improve Your Networking Success.

Click here to read prior issues of this newsletter.

Click here to subscribe to this monthly newsletter and make sure you don’t miss the next issue.

Thanks to Tiffany Ashitey and Tasha Morris of The Benchmark Creative Group. Their invitation to speak at Brooklyn Marketing Week was the impetus to crystallize my approach to networking.

Send a Better Holiday Card

Why let your card get lost in the display?

You send a holiday greeting card in December to everyone you can recall.

Not because the IRS, the SEC or the FDA require you to do so, but because you appreciate the relationship with that contact.

Now that you’ve made the commitment to keep in touch with your clients, colleagues and referral sources, take the next step.

Make sure that your card stands out in the display on your client’s office door or the credenza in the boardroom.

How can you make your card distinctive?

Don’t order from a catalogue. Imagine that your competitor, or a dentist, chose the same one.

Instead, use an image or photo that conveys a sense of your company or organization and its uniqueness.

Center that image on the front of the card, leaving the rest white, as frame. Place a greeting of warmth and holiday cheer in the spaces above and/or below the picture.
Add your logo, discreetly, in the lower left corner.

Inside the card, offer a wish for the joys of the season, a prosperous New Year or some other heartfelt expression of connection with the recipient.

On the back of the card, show your company name, address, phone and website URL, plus a short description of your mission or services.

When the recipient gets your card, the small logo immediately makes it clear who sent the card, even without opening it.

When the card is placed among other holiday cards, the white frame makes it stand out. Plus, colleagues of the recipient will notice it from among the other cards.

Let me confess I do not follow my own advice. Instead, I compose an email with a Holiday Haiku.

Like the card with an image in a white frame, it is distinctive. I’ve flexed my writer’s muscle to create a 17-syllable seasonal poem since 2009. Recipients tell me they know it’s the holiday season when my haiku arrives.

This Month’s Tip

Like other marketing activities, this holiday card is not about you, personally. It is about the you on the other side of the table, the person who is opening the envelope. Keep the image and discourse neutral. The United States has many faith groups. Respect them; you cannot be sure another person shares your beliefs about a seasonal holiday and may take umbrage.

Candles are a universal image, they spread light during a period of the year when daylight lasts less than 10 hours.

Snow and winter scenes are popular, unless geographically unlikely.

A photo of a team member, interacting with a client or visitor, who is seen from the back or in profile, conveys the mission of your company or organization.

Contact

Ready to prepare a unique holiday card, or even a haiku of your own? Contact me at 347.256.9141, set an appointment here or email me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com. Let’s imagine snowflakes, trees and candles — in a new light.

See also:  Make YOUR Holiday Greeting Card Memorable

Click here to read prior issues of this newsletter.

Click here to subscribe to this monthly newsletter and make sure you don’t miss the next issue.

Do You Lead Workshops for Free?

Speaking at events is one of the top five ways to attract new clients.

You probably get invited to speak at events where there is no honorarium beyond coffee, sandwiches or a glass of wine.

Should you accept these engagements or turn them down?

Absolutely accept them. Here’s why I seek out and look forward to speaking opportunities as part of my marketing activities.

First, these presentations help raise the level of professionalism among the attendees and in their industries. People who work in accounting know very little about Public Relations and people who work in Public Relations know even less about accounting, generally. The overview, tips and pointers you discuss will establish a foundation for understanding. This will help the participants improve communication with their colleagues and vendors. You may alert them to an overlooked situation or problem within their organization, and thus the need for your services.

Tip: Speaking at an organization where a client is a member, or to a class where a friend is the teacher, is an obvious YES, as you strengthen the relationship.

Second, to teach is to learn twice over, said French essayist Joseph Joubert. Preparing a workshop requires an immersion in the material; you assemble articles, notes and previously given presentations. You need to be current in your field and incorporate the latest issues and trends in your remarks, keeping you at the top of your game.

Next, know that the participants will ask questions from their narrow perspective, leading you to drill down deeper, on the spot, in order to arrive at a cogent answer. Responding to their queries opens you to a new viewpoint from a business owner or professional whose field is different from your own. You can then incorporate what you’ve learned in future presentations.

Of course, you hope to get business from the workshop; sharing valuable information and branded handouts with your contact details may make that happen. Remember, too, everyone knows someone worth knowing. Note that even if the attendees may not hire you, nor buy your book or product, they may refer you to one of their work colleagues or someone among their contacts.

Finally, speaking is speaking; practice makes perfect, whatever the format and whoever the audience.

This Month’s Tip

Where can you find speaking opportunities? Try:

  • Networking group
  • Classes taught by colleagues
  • Professional membership associations
  • Business associations
  • Local merchant associations
  • Chambers of Commerce
  • Municipal public library
  • City and county small business services agency
  • City and county economic development corporation
  • Associations of nonprofit organizations and United Way
  • Center for management training

Contact

Ready to find your next speaking gig? Contact me at 2347.256.9141, set an appointment here or email me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com. Together we’ll brainstorm topics for specific audiences and devise ways to introduce you to them.

See also: Create Your Own Traveling Classroom and Back to School – As a Teacher.

Click here to read prior issues of this newsletter.

Click here to subscribe to this monthly newsletter and make sure you don’t miss the next issue.

Your Garden of Media Relations

Clear, plant and cultivate. Then distribute.

Have you ever compared gardening to media relations?

In the case of a garden, you prepare the plot of land, clearing out the rocks and weeds.

  • In the case of your organization, you pare down everything and develop a succinct message.

Next, you draw the borderlines and prepare rows where you will place the seeds.

  • You define your target audiences and the media outlets that will reach them, and then assemble a list of reporters.

Now it’s time to plant the seedlings.

  • You distribute a press release, media profile or pitch letter that will grab the journalists’ attention.

You assiduously water the plants.

  • You conduct appropriate follow-up and keep in touch with the reporters.

Time passes. Then, one day, the garden blooms.

  • The news story is published in a prestigious industry magazine.

It can appear overnight — or it can take days and months.

What a thrill to know you made it happen!

This Month’s Tip

Now, it’s up to you to propagate the news story you’ve placed by sharing it everywhere you can. Don’t trust that the wind (social media) will carry the seedlings (news coverage) of its own accord. As the gardener, you have to play an active role. Root around for ideas and find fertile ground to plant them.

    • 1. Start with a summary or comment on the article and then link to the actual article on your company or organization’s website;
      2. Include the summary and link in your email signature;
      3. Refer to it on your individual profile and company/organization page on LinkedIn, plus Facebook page(s);
      4. Pose a question in LinkedIn groups and on Twitter to which the article is the answer, perhaps “How do leaders manage stress?”;
      5. Write a case study for the website;
      6. Contribute an article to the company or organization newsletter, both internal and external;
      7. Offer to write an article on a similar topic for an industry publication;
      8. Conduct a workshop on the issue;
      9. Speak on a panel, perhaps with a client;
      10. Record a podcast or video.

Contact

How does your garden grow? What’s the state of your media relations activities? Let’s discuss ways to cultivate your media contacts. Call me at 347.256.9141, set an appointment here or email me at janet@janetlfalk.com.

Click here to read prior issues of this newsletter.

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Time to Improve Your Marketing RBI

Here are five essential ways to promote your business.

According to author and consultant David A. Fields, there are FIVE Marketing Musts for consultants who want to build their visibility — and these also apply to any individual and organization:

  1. Networking
  2. Speaking
  3. Writing
  4. Trade Association
  5. Digital Presence

Consider which approaches are most comfortable for you — and which will be most effective in reaching your target market.

Set a goal of participating in these marketing activities every month — and track your progress to evaluate your success.

In June, for example, I attended four weekly networking meetings of one group; two monthly networking events of other groups; one monthly networking lunch; one networking social; and a series of four weekly workshops, as well as two annual networking dinners.

In the speaking category, I gave 10-minute presentations at two of the networking groups, plus one 60-minute presentation at a colleague’s class of entrepreneurs.

As for writing, I composed my monthly newsletter, plus published an article in a monthly trade magazine.

Turning to trade associations, I gave a 75-minute presentation to a group of attorneys who are potential clients.

Finally, in expanding my digital presence, I posted links to the article and newsletter on my website, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts, plus mention of the trade association presentation on LinkedIn following the event.

Looks like I batted over .300 for the month. How about you?

This Month’s Tip

Here’s where you can publish your timely insights to fish where the fish are:

  • Write an essay for the industry publications your potential clients read.
  • Contact a colleague who has a blog and offer a guest post.
  • Maybe it’s time to launch your own quarterly (or monthly) newsletter, if you don’t have one.
  • Consider a post on your LinkedIn profile.
  • Wherever you publish, extend the reach beyond the standard readers; promote the article, column or post on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, as appropriate.

Contact

Are you ready to step up to the plate? Let’s consider which of these five marketing tactics are most suitable for you and your business. Contact me at 347.256.9141, set an appointment here or email me at janet@janetlfalk.com. Let’s play ball.

Click here to purchase the e-book Create and Monitor Your Marketing RBI, for $9.99 via Venmo.

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Are Your Website’s Images Consistent With Your Message?

Ensure images retain their meaning amid current events.

A picture is worth 1000 words. What happens when the outside world changes and your picture might convey an unintended allusion?

A nonprofit organization that promotes dialogue among disparate — and usually opposing — stakeholders used images on its website to highlight issues it was tackling.

One picture, unwittingly, referred to a hot-button topic. It is a cement-brick wall; a ladder leans against it, suggesting the wall is rather high.

(This image from Pixabay.com is similar, but not the one used; no attribution is required.)

Given the recent, hotly contested discussions of political relations with Mexico, this image appears to reference immigration issues.

Actually, the subject is economic mobility.

Another image: a group of smiling girls running towards the reader. This referred not to women nor exercise, but to re-thinking education, yet there were no teachers, classrooms, books nor computers.

In our discussion about the website and images, the nonprofit’s Director of Communications noted my comments on the gap between the images and the intended context of the subjects.

These two images have since been changed. One is now a graph that is more explicitly aligned with the theme of economic mobility. The other shows children engaged in using a mechanical contraption as an example of a non-traditional way that students learn and explore.

Clearly, selecting an image for a website is fraught with issues of perception, at the surface and in the context of internal and external references.

Here are some guidelines:

  1. Make sure you own the image or have properly licensed it. Respect the work of the artist or photographer and negotiate the terms of usage and credit. If you prefer to use stock photographs, search the copyright-free or royalty-free websites.
  2. Have a person in a photograph, even if viewed from behind or at a distance. If you are promoting a destination, you are asking visitors to put themselves in the photo, similar to those pictured. To pull heartstrings for an emotional appeal, display a person or animal in need.
  3. Ask people outside the organization what the image says to them — without the benefit of a caption. Take note of how closely their ideas correspond to the intended theme.
  4. When you compose the caption, make it underscore the message more than Person consulting a representative or professional.
  5. The people in all photographs should appear authentic and contemporary. Within a group of four or more, aim for diversity by gender, ethnicity and age, when possible and appropriate.
  6. Search the internet to see where else the image may have been used. Readers may sense it is familiar and conflate the two uses.
  7. As with any written content, let the image percolate for a day; consider it again, to ensure it still matches and resonates.
  8. Finally, review the image on a scheduled basis to ensure its relevance to both the nonprofit’s mission and the external environment. In addition to the photos and context cited above, references to pop culture, for example, can become outdated and reflect poorly on the organization.

This Month’s Tip

There is a difference between copyright, licensing, rights-managed images and royalty-free stock images. The company that owns the image may place limitations on the medium or format where an image is used (website, advertising, brochure), geography (domestic or international) and time frame (one year or unlimited). Here is a basic primer. A stock agency sales rep or graphic designer will advise you.

Contact

Ready to take a fresh look at your website’s images? Call me at 347.256.9141, set an appointment here or email at janet@janetlfalk.com. Let’s see what story they tell when separated from the caption.

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Thanks to Susan Rosenberg Jones regarding use of rights-managed and royalty-free photography and also to these excellent graphic designers and colleagues for their thoughtful suggestions: Christina Hagopian, Rya Kaufman, Brandie Knox, Peter Levinson, Meryl Randman and Daniella Van Gennep.

Keep Your Recent Conference Current

Summarize and refresh the proceedings as evergreen insights.

Your company or nonprofit organization convened a large event. Speakers delivered presentations; attendees asked questions and gave feedback. All in all – there were stimulating and productive discussions.

How can you build on that momentum to keep the conversation going?

A follow-up email is sent to participants thanking them for their role in the successful conference.

This email highlights the benefits of the conference: access to the speakers and their materials, whether handouts or their PowerPoint presentations.

There are occasions when, post-event, organizers and attendees might like to share this information with a colleague.

Plus, what about those who did not attend the conference? People who were unable to travel, individuals who have subsequently become interested in the issue, new customers, vendors, elected officials and prospects? How can these newcomers tap into the discussion from an event that concluded months ago?

Here are ideas to keep the past conference current for attendees and newcomers.
Start with a summary description of the speakers’ remarks along with abbreviated versions of their presentations. Make these available for download, upon submission of an email address.

As new trends emerge, as regulations change, as legislation is enacted, these summaries may be updated to reflect the dynamics of the situation.

Revise the conference web page to incorporate a banner or sash across the top, with a link to the event summary and the condensed presentations.

Share elements of the summary and conference highlights in blog posts and via other online platforms.

Consider establishing an online forum or LinkedIn group for speakers, attendees and newcomers to keep the discussion going.

These post-event activities should be part of the overall conference plan.

Considerable effort went into preparing the event; once over, strategize so that the conference still remains relevant. Undoubtedly, the issues addressed will persist. Treat the conference as a launch pad or a way-station in the extended conversation and cultivate future exchanges for fruitful follow-up and action.

This Month’s Tip

Designate two people as recipients of the speakers’ presentations, as well as recorders of the discussion and breakout sessions. Of course, video recordings and transcriptions are also helpful. These colleagues will prepare a summary by a given deadline. Then set a recurring day, perhaps the second Tuesday of the month, for periodic updates to the conference webpage or website. Notify attendees and other interested subscribers of significant revisions and additions.

Contact

Are you prepared to keep a past event from becoming passé? Contact me at 347.256.9141, set an appointment here  or email me at janet@janetlfalk.com. Let’s review ways for it to remain evergreen.

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Close-up of Your Digital Portrait

Complete and embellish the image of your online presence.

When someone you met at a conference searches for you online, what will she find? What you say about yourself?

Or is there a blank or incomplete space?

You have the positive obligation to shape your digital presence and tell your story through multiple channels. As a business or nonprofit professional, place yourself in the most favorable light.

LinkedIn

Among the many digital channels, your LinkedIn presence is the resource likely to be reviewed by your peers, contacts, prospects and reporters.

Many consider LinkedIn the world’s largest database of professionals, with more than 450 million global participants. Now, seemingly everyone is promoting themselves online via LinkedIn.

Once your profile is established, be sure to update it on a frequent basis.

Take the time to view yourself through the eyes of someone you met at an industry conference to ensure you have a strong, attractive and complete online presence.

Your Photo is clear and focused; you have a smile, eyes looking at the reader. LinkedIn states that having a photo means your profile is 14 times more likely to be viewed. Because you own a smartphone with a camera, you can easily pose against a blank wall and have someone take your photo. Then, post the snapshot to your profile, and eventually replace it with a professional headshot.

What does the default avatar signify? Perhaps you do not take your digital presence seriously and cannot be trifled to show your true self to the world.

Your Value-Driven Headline has 220 characters, including spaces. Summarize your professional title, name of company, target audiences and how you are able to help them. Emphasize the value of working with you and your company. Your goal is to make the reader want to see more of your profile. Consider reviewing the headlines of peers among your connections to learn both do’s and don’ts.

When someone conducts a search on LinkedIn, whether by name or key words, this is what she will see:

Photo, Name, degree of connection
Value-Driven Headline
City
Photos of any shared connections

Reading a value-driven headline will prompt the viewer to click on your name and read all about you, not a colleague with similar keywords.

What might a short or lackluster headline indicate to the reader? Maybe you do not maximize opportunities right in front of you.

Your About section, in up to 2,000 characters, including spaces, is your greatest opportunity to advertise what you bring to the table, for whom and why. Note that only the first 220-235 characters (spaces included) will be displayed with your profile, so sharpen that sales language pencil and include a call to action: Contact me to make this happen. The reader must click to See more of your summary than these two lines.

Make an effort to explain, from the viewer’s perspective, how she would benefit from knowing and working with you. How will she Save Time, Save Money or Make More Money, thanks to your product, service or experience. For a nonprofit executive, how will you help Save the World or Bring More JOY to Life.

Remember, you control what you display about yourself on LinkedIn; write about how you serve clients in order to prompt prospects to contact you. Anything less and the reader has little reason to stick around.

Your LinkedIn URL can be customized as your name. When you register to open a profile on LinkedIn, you are automatically assigned a random number. Changing that URL demonstrates that you are a person attentive to detail who has taken two minutes to polish his profile. Complete instructions are in the This Month’s Tip section below.

Will the reader think you accept the status quo, without putting your personal stamp on the situation?

Your LinkedIn Connections should number at least 500 people. Why? Among these many contacts, it is more likely one of them will be connected to the person searching for, say, a copywriter or comptroller, either directly (1st degree), by a mutual contact (2nd degree) or a connection with a contact of a contact (3rd degree). These three degrees of connection mean she will be able to read more of your profile than that of a person with whom there is no viable degree of connection.

It’s easy enough to reach out to your many professional and personal contacts via LinkedIn. Enter a name in the Search space, then select the appropriate name on the list that appears. From that profile, click on Connect and personalize the request, indicating how you have a shared interest in, perhaps, marketing home insurance to renters.

Will you remain at a below-500 level of connections? That approach may suggest that you do not dynamically step forward to engage with others.

This Month’s Tip

Customize Your LinkedIn URL.

  • On your LinkedIn page, go to Profile and click Edit profile.
  • To the right, look at Edit public profile URL with the link: www.linkedin.com/in/xxx/123456a7
  • Click on the pencil.
  • Now you can type your name XXXX without the number /123456a7 gobbledy gook after it.
  • If there is a duplicate of your name, LinkedIn will advise you; perhaps you can use a middle initial, hyphen or underscore between your first and last names.
  • Then click Set Custom URL.
  • You are done!

Contact

Ready to draw more details on your virtual portrait? Don’t gaze at a blank slate or a half-finished image. Contact me at 347.256.9141, set an appointment here or email me at janet@janetlfalk.com. Let’s look at the big picture and sketch in the missing pieces to call more attention to your digital presence.

See also: Are You Find-able? and Three Steps for More Success on LinkedIn

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Thanks to Marcia Rockwood, whose conversation inspired this newsletter.

Create Your Own Traveling Classroom

Lead a workshop at the office of your contacts.

Speaking engagements are a proven marketing strategy to get new clients. You may be invited to lead a session at a professional membership organization. You may also create your own event by recruiting a contact to host a meeting at their office and have that person invite their colleagues.

As an example, I advise attorneys with a solo practice or at a small law firm. Occasionally, they have a noteworthy case that merits news coverage, and they may use that strategy to put pressure on defense counsel. This is generally a short-term project; they do not need my services often enough to hire me on a retainer basis.

Solo attorneys are usually members of networking groups; perhaps Sandra handles Elder Law, Khadija focuses on Trusts and Estates and William has a Real Estate practice. They meet monthly and make it a point to refer business to each other.

Recently, I reached out to more than 50 attorneys with solo or small practices. I suggested that by having me lead a workshop How YOU Can Be the Attorney Reporters Call, they would accomplish three goals:

  • learn the skills to introduce themselves to reporters and raise their profile in the media to attract more clients;
  • enhance their leadership status among their peers by providing them with access to a resource like myself;
  • have fun, as I offered to bring a cold six-pack of beer to the meeting.

Subsequently, I led a workshop on media relations for eight attorneys at which a lively discussion ensued. After the presentation, their feedback indicated how much they had learned from the session and that they would keep me in mind for future newsworthy cases.

This workshop or traveling classroom approach has helped me expand my network, which will continue to grow as these new contacts share my offer to lead future workshops with other colleagues.

This Month’s Tip

Look beyond the membership of a professional organization and the four walls of a classroom to teach a workshop. Develop an interactive session and offer it to your connections for their professional development and that of their peers. At this contact’s office, you’ll collect their colleagues’ cards and their appreciation.

Contact

Is it time for you to step to the front of the room? What topic would you prepare for a workshop attended by potential clients who might be willing to introduce you to their networking peers? Contact me at 347.256.9141, set an appointment here or email me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com. Let’s consider possible subjects and attendees.

See Back to School – As a Teacher and Do You Lead Workshops for FREE?

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Thanks to Chad Young for hosting the workshop.

Grasp the Hidden Power in Your Networking Group

Diverse perspectives of members yield strategies.

Networking. What could be new?

Your networking group is a source of direct referrals, of course, and some of its members may even become clients.

Through these contacts, you might land an introduction to a person connected to a company in your sights, following the maxim Everyone knows someone worth knowing (see Networking Towards the King)

Or you may do a good deed by connecting two contacts who might be helpful to each other as resources or referral sources. (see Turn Your Networking Inside Out)

Now, here’s the hidden power of organic or private networks often overlooked: that of the informal business coach.

Your network colleagues have heard your success stories over recent months or years. They see your dedication to your clients.

When you are stymied by a What should I do next scenario, consult the folks in your networking circle.

A dozen consultants of the Nonprofit Flight Plan, who advise nonprofit organizations on operational, marketing and financial issues, have, over the years, shared with me their insights and also suggested strategies.

Recently, a conversation touched on pricing for services. How does a consultant delicately — and forcefully — convey the value that is built into every interaction?

We focused on the understanding of a situation, the wisdom to make the appropriate recommendation and the capacity to follow through on the implementation. All these steps demonstrate the value of the consultant’s experience and the client relationship. This price tag cannot be calculated by the one-time fee for service or retainer.

This is an example of what makes the wisdom of a networking group priceless.

This Month’s Tip

Tap into your network for advice and your own brain-stretching. Networking meetings are not only about individuals and their presentations. It’s the collection of multi-disciplinary perspective each one brings to the table. Informally advising your colleague will help you exercise your brainstorming muscles, build trust among contacts and garner ideas to develop your own business.

Contact

Are you looking for invaluable advice? You may find it among your networking contacts. Let’s brainstorm who the best partners for you might be. You can reach me at 347.256.9141, set an appointment here or email me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com.

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See also: Everyone Knows Someone Worth Knowing

Make Your Five W’s Reader-Centered

See the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How from an outside perspective.

When writing an article, an author or reporter traditionally thinks of the five W’s – Who, What When, Where and Why, plus How – as questions to be answered.

Here’s how that familiar paradigm looks when the reader is put at the center of the discussion:

Who: Who are you (as a business or nonprofit organization) that you are getting in touch with me? Do we have a prior relationship?

What: What should I pay attention to now? You may have interrupted my busy work day or my leisure time.

What: What do you want me to do, now that you have my attention? Will I call you, send an email, visit your website, sign a petition, make a purchase, attend an event or do something else? (Be sure to make that next step clear.) Is it easy for me to take this action? Did you indicate how I can contact you if I need more information?

When and Where: Am I seeing this while at work, at night or on the weekend? Which vehicle did you use to contact me: newspaper, industry publication, email, enewsletter, LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Facebook?

Why: Why should I care about what you have to say? How will it help me to Save Time, Save Money, Make More Money, Save the World or Get More JOY Out of Life?

Review your written message by responding to these questions and issues. Engage the reader from the get-go for a more successful response. It is not about me, the writer, business or nonprofit; make it about YOU, the reader.

This Month’s Tip

Look at the layout and design. How does the digital message display on desktop, laptop, tablet and phone? Does an image occupy so much of the page that the reader has to scroll to read the content? Is there sufficient white space to give the eye a rest? Make your piece visually appealing.

Contact

Ready to bring the reader’s five W’s and How into focus? Let’s sharpen your communication to direct the reader appropriately. Contact me at 347.256.9141, set an appointment here or email me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com.

See also Orient Your Newsletter.

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(This discussion has been lightly edited for updated content.)

COPE: How Writing Can Re-Broadcast Your Audio

Highlights of a radio interview or podcast can drive web traffic.

The good news about radio interviews, as noted previously, is they are now captured digitally, making it easy to circulate the URL of the program via enewsletters and your email signature. You can also publish a post, status update and start a group discussion on LinkedIn, among other platforms.

These promotional strategies also work well for podcasts and TV appearances.

The twist is to summarize the highlights of the interview and then share this write-up.

Repurposing the audio in a written format can deliver the content to a target audience that may not be acquainted with the podcast, did not see the TV show or missed the radio interview.

Geri Thomas, Founder and President of an executive recruitment and consulting firm in the arts and culture sector, recently spoke on a podcast about leadership issues at museums. After the podcast was published online, I summarized the key points and Thomas published these highlights as a LinkedIn post.

She also shared the summary with LinkedIn discussion groups for professionals in the museum and arts arena, asking What makes a good leader? This provocative question could be answered with her article and podcast as resources. Thomas also placed the article on her website.

In the days following the publication of the LinkedIn post and group discussions, the article was viewed more than 600 times. The actual podcast was listened to more than 550 times.

Likewise, the Thomas & Associates website experienced a substantial increase in visits, plus its link to Highlights of The Museum Life Podcast: Empowering Leaders by Geri Thomas has been clicked more than 300 times.

This podcast lives on, reaching a broader audience, by promoting the summary across multiple online channels, an example of the COPE distribution strategy: Create Once, Publish Everywhere.

This Month’s Tip

What is COPE?: Create Once, Publish Everywhere. Clients, prospects and supporters are looking for resources and information across multiple platforms: online, newspapers, magazines, newsletters and video. Whenever you create content, take steps to share and promote your insights. Whenever you are the subject of media coverage or another’s blog, you can respect copyright and reference the media outlet.

Keep this list of channels handy and implement as appropriate.

  • Website of your company or organization
  • Newsletter to your clients and supporters
  • Email signature
  • LinkedIn company or organization page
  • LinkedIn status update
  • LinkedIn group discussions
  • Facebook company or organization page
  • Case Study for industry newsletter, blog, speaking engagement
  • X (Twitter)
  • Medium.com
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Slideshare

Contact

Let’s capture the essence of your wisdom and bottle it in a summary. Call me at 347.256.9141, set an appointment here or email me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com.

See also: Work Up Your Workshop in a New Format

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Capitalize on the moment.

Consider this: a trade newsletter publishes a rave article about your business or organization, like this one.

Congrats! Keep the momentum going by amplifying readership and thought leadership through one or several of the following suggestions, arranged from easiest to most time-intensive:

  • Create a bitly link; shorten the article’s long URL, so that you can identify how many people clicked on each link to read the article and where they found it.
  • In your email signature, provocatively summarize an essential point made in the article and embed a link.

Regards,
   Janet Falk
Are Communications an Investment or Expense?

  • Post on your LinkedIn profile. Ask a question in your LinkedIn groups to spark debate or provide a solution to a recurring problem for customers. (The less self-serving the better.)
  • Summarize the article as a question to which your insights are an answer or case study, and mention it on X (Twitter).
  • If you maintain a company or nonprofit page on Facebook, post a link to the article there.
  • After you secure permission from the publication, which may charge you a fee, print the article as a PDF. Now upload the PDF to your website and post a link to it on the home page (for the next month or until it becomes outdated), as well as in the news section, and wherever else on the website might be appropriate.
  • Use the article as a calling card to introduce yourself to other reporters. Now that you are recognized as an authority, share your expertise and offer an update. Mention some ideas that were not discussed in the article, and are particularly relevant to this publication’s audience. Suggest another, related topic where you can offer insight.
  • If you often read and comment on industry blogs, reach out to those bloggers; present yourself as a guest writer or suggest an interview.
  • As a member of a business, industry or professional organization, get in touch with the chair of the Education or Program Committee. Propose that you and a client speak as panelists at a meeting to explore this topic in more depth, with examples and lessons learned.
  • Contact the editors of industry and membership association newsletters and offer to revise the article’s themes as a case study for colleagues.

You worked hard to get that news article; now make it work for you!

When you want to increase the impact of your media coverage, let’s review the best ways to build on its reach. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141.

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(This discussion has been lightly edited for updated content.)

Holiday Haiku

I have sent a holiday haiku as an e-card to clients, colleagues and contacts since 2009.

Click on the year to see the haiku e-card and a related image.

If a similarly customized holiday greeting appeals to you, please contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141.

2025
A light snow dusting
Awaits the hardy hikers.
The racoon stays hidden.

Where will your trails take you in 2026?
With warm wishes to you, your colleagues and family during the holidays and into the New Year.

2024
Speak, silver moonlight.
Banish yesterday’s darkness.
Bring hope everywhere.

It has been a most trying year. In appreciation of the clients and colleagues who worked with me, I will make a donation to the SCORE Foundation, which provides advice to small business owners, like myself.
With warm wishes to you, your colleagues and family this holiday season.

2023
Light a tall candle.
Watch it glow in the window.
Away, dark winter!

Was 2023 wonderful or dreadful? Or something in between?
Time to move ahead and fix our gaze on a bright tomorrow.
Wishing you and yours a holiday of peace, music and the warmth of shared celebrations.
In anticipation of the 15th anniversary of my practice, here is my gift to you: an e-book to help you maximize your attendance at conferences in 2024.
In appreciation of the clients and colleagues who worked with me this year, I have made a donation to Braver Angels, a cross-partisan volunteer-led movement to overcome our nation’s partisan divide.

2022
‘Neath the golden moon
Stately stand evergreen trees
Hear the wind’s music.

Let’s embrace winter’s delights.
Best wishes to you, your family and your team.
In appreciation of the clients and colleagues who worked with me this year, I have made a donation to a nonprofit in New York that supports people with Alzheimer’s disease and their families.
Here’s to the warmth of the holiday season and the promise of the new year 2023.

2021
Evening performance:
Bustling wind, frantic snowflakes
Peaceful, smiling moon.

Sending warmest of wishes to you, your family and your team.
In appreciation of the clients and colleagues who made this year my best ever, I have made donations to nonprofits in New York and Chicago that support educational opportunities for young women.
Here’s to the magic of the holiday season and the excitement of the new year 2022.

2020
How dark was this year,
Clouded by illness and loss.
Welcome, sun of hope.

With warm thoughts for your personal health, your family and your team.
In thanks for the wonderful care of my mother, age 90, who recovered from COVID-19, I have made a donation to a local hospital.
Consider how you may acknowledge your appreciation of clients and partners in collaboration with a donation to a nonprofit organization, as we all look ahead to a brighter 2021.

2019
All faiths celebrate
Winter solstice traditions.
Light reclaims the dark.

Are you glad or sad to see 2019 end?
Did it bring new clients, new successes or new struggles?
Together, let’s make 2020 memorable.
Here’s to the promise of the New Year.

2018
Sing a song of snow.
A white coat gently glistens
and brings joyful peace.

Soon 2018 will be a memory, of wins and losses, lessons learned and workshops taught.
Here’s to following new paths, to your success and to the promise of the New Year.

2017
In the dark of night
A sudden glimpse of bright light
Sparks joy in my heart.

Thanks to your support, 2017 was one of my best years in business.
May you gather strength from your success and climb ever higher in the months ahead.

This card was cited by PR Daily as one of its top PR holiday greeting cards as a lesson of keep it short and sweet.

2016
In the wintry dark
Stars sing brilliant melodies.
Hope and joy for all.

Olympics, elections and my busted foot. Let’s put 2016 in a box, share the warmth of the holiday season and dance ahead to a new year.
Here’s to your success in 2017.

2015
Snow blankets the street
A cushion of sweet silence.
Peace, all the way home.

May the warmth of the holiday season fill your heart.
To your success in 2016. Cheers!

2014
Ring in the New Year!
Peace, love, music, art, snowflakes.
Share them everywhere.

Another memorable year!
Let’s celebrate the spirit of the holiday season.
Here’s to success in 2015.

2013
Tall, from a distance,
Snowy tree stands in silence
My heart fills with peace.

What a year this has been!
With warm wishes for the holiday season
and for success in 2014.

2012
Snowflake, dance with me
Raise arms to the winter sky
Embrace the moment.

Wishing you, your team and your clients
a joyous season and
ever more success in 2013.

2011
As candles flicker,
Moonbeams glide past the snowman
In gentle rhythm.

With warm wishes for the holiday season
and for growth and success in 2012.

2010
The New Year’s promise:
hope, joy, peace, love, memories
and gentle snowflakes.

Have an even more successful 2011.

2009
The quiet magic
brought by the first winter snow
inspires and awes.

Wishing you, your team and your family
a joyous season and
ever more success in the New Year.

Vote for Email and NOT for Social Media

If you do not already have an email newsletter, it is (past) time to launch it.

Consumers prefer to hear from vendors and brands by email, according to a recent study. Even Millennials, regarded as highly digitally attuned users, want to receive promotional email.

Given the choice of contact via a variety of platforms, the preference for email is overwhelming in three key demographics:

  • Baby Boomers (born 1945-1965): 74%
  • Generation X (born 1965-1980): 72%
  • Millennials (born 1980-1995): 64%

Moreover, more than half of consumers (53%) check their email on their smartphone, making it imperative that newsletters display well on the small screen:

  • Baby Boomers: 36%
  • Generation X: 53%
  • Millennials: 59%

In short, knowing your audience is receptive to email marketing, it’s vital to tailor the content of your newsletter and ensure that it is accessible in a format easy to read on a smartphone.

If you DO have an email newsletter, here’s a video review of best practices for newsletters as gleaned from six writers, including yours truly.

More email newsletter tips here.

This Month’s Tip

Email is here to stay.
Email has a larger reach; there are THREE times more email accounts than Facebook & X (Twitter) combined.
Email delivers to the recipient 90% of the time; only 2% of Facebook fans see posts.
Email converts with a 3% click-through rate vs .5% click-through on Twitter.
YOU control the distribution of email, not Facebook or Twitter algorithms.

Contact

Ready to launch or evaluate your email communications strategy? Let’s consider the audience, content and format that are most appropriate. Call me at 347.256.9141, set an appointment here or email me at janet@janetlfalk.com.

PS Tomorrow is Election Day. Plan to vote.

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Take Your Own Advice

Advice you give freely may be quite valuable, even for yourself.

You probably love to give advice to others. We all have insights on (un)usual business issues and strained relationships, plus tips for gardening, exercise and travel.

Ever get that AHA moment when you realize the suggestions you offered work for your own situation?

In a recent newsletter, I calculated that each of us probably has 5,000 contacts in a variety of places: address book, LinkedIn, subscribers to a newsletter or blog and more. Aggregating those names into a single database:

  • Provides a way to keep in touch with hundreds of them;
  • Evokes opportunities to introduce one to another;
  • Sparks awareness of your own services and products for them as potential referral sources and connectors.

Accordingly, I took my own advice by consolidating my contacts into my address book. Here are a few results:

There were 2,483 names in my address book in August; a month later, I had 4,503, a gain of 2,020 names that were scattered in emails, lists and business cards.

Similarly, my connections on LinkedIn increased from 2,809 to 3,023, an additional 214 and a number that continues to grow.

Clearly, implementing my own suggestion was successful, as it enabled me to re-connect with long-dormant contacts, plus initiate conversations, email exchanges and meetings, not to mention a few subscribers to this newsletter.

This Month’s Tip

Here’s a few resources for hands-on advice and general tips:

Ilise Benun, Marketing Mentor offers tips on marketing for creative professionals that apply to many business owners.

David A. Fields advises consultants who work with companies of all sizes.

Life Hack – Tips for Life features pointers on productivity and getting things done.

Contact

If you’ve followed my advice on this topic of aggregating your contacts – or have a suggestion of your own to share – Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s dig for more good ideas in that gold mine of 5,000 contacts, plus we can swap tips and brainstorm together.

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Your Gold Mine of 5,000 Contacts

Out of Sight, Out of Mind.
In Sight, Top of Mind.

You may not believe it, but you’re probably sitting on 5,000 contacts in various pools of connections.

Imagine the opportunities they represent for new business, new alliances and new volunteers.

You can find these people here:
1. Names in your address book
2. Recently emailed addresses
3. LinkedIn connections
4. Subscribers to your newsletter and blog
5. Business cards
6. Lists of attendees at events
7. Membership directories
8. Facebook friends and Twitter followers

Look for potential clients, partners, vendors, donors and board members among these resources.

Possibilities for you to refer business and connections to each other also abound.

Let’s start identifying them and actively mine these contacts. Plan to re-connect with these people and create momentum — for your business, for your organization, and for them to be thinking of you.

If you don’t use a contact relationship management program, make your address book the basic database.

1. Export the names in your address book in a .csv file. (If you use Outlook, go to File, select Open & Export, click on Import/Export and follow the simple steps.) Save the file as an Excel spreadsheet to make it easier to manipulate. Sort by first or last name. Print only the names. Review the names; delete duplicates and others, as appropriate.

2. Collect the email addresses and names of the 1,000 people you have most recently emailed. Outlook’s blessed auto-complete feature is your new best friend. Certainly, there are several hundred names in that pool you have not yet added to your address book. Download the NK2Edit program. As before, export, save in Excel, sort, print. Compare this group to the list above. Through this exercise, I found more than 400 new names to enter in my address book.

3. Export the names of your LinkedIn connections. Again, save, sort and print. Perhaps there are a few names of people you no longer recognize. Now might be the time to delete them. (They will not be notified you did this.) Compare these names with those in your expanding address book and add them to it.

4. Your newsletter and blog subscribers are another group to mine. Continue to export, save, sort and print. Compare the list to your address book and LinkedIn connections; add to both, ensuring consistency across all platforms.

5. That stack of business cards? You know what to do.

6. Have you been to any events and received a list of the attendees? Who did you meet at the break-out session? Who sat with you at lunch? Add these names.

7. Do you belong to a chamber of commerce, professional association or networking group? Peruse the membership directory; your dues paid for it. See how your address book continues to grow!

8. Finally, your social and professional connections on Facebook and X (Twitter) represent an audience that is interested in keeping up with your latest activities. Bring them into the fold, too.

Yes, this exporting, sorting, printing, comparing and entering data is tedious.* With this effort comes a payoff; when you read every single name, you will find out who’s hiding there, including some welcome surprises.

Last month I wrote to a colleague who subscribes to my newsletter; I hadn’t spoken with him since 2012! We then chatted for 15 minutes. The following day, he emailed me to help him with a project, which I completed. A few days later, he urgently needed my help by close of business, so I also did that. Plus, he spies another task on the horizon.

Four years of minimal communication, and now he sees me as a member of his team.

This Month’s Tip

Here are six subject lines and invitations to re-start a conversation:

  • LinkedIn suggested your name, so I endorsed you for a few skills. When can we grab a coffee to catch up?
  • Your name came up in conversation with PERSON (Put the name in the body of the email, so the reader will open the note.) What are you working on now?
  • This article/podcast reminded me of our conversation about TOPIC (link). What do you think?
  • Would you like to meet a PROFESSION? Perhaps NAME is a potential collaborator. (link to website or LinkedIn profile). Let me know and I will introduce you.
  • Remember this email? Please help me recall what happened next.
  • Your business card re-surfaced. What’s new?

By asking a question, you open the door to a phone call, coffee or lunch to re-ignite the connection. Perhaps you have discovered a viable contact for this person among the hundreds of names you recently added to your address book. Some say your best prospects and referral sources are among the people you already know, so start re-connecting.

Contact

Ready to hunt for buried treasure among your contacts? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s start prospecting.

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* Note: You can expedite the Outlook data entry process by saving each modified Excel list as a .csv file. Import that file into Outlook. It sounds more complicated than it is; let me talk you through the process.

It’s Business. Not Personal.

Take a stand.

Two very different companies once had rather similar slogans:

It’s not business, it’s personal. (law firm)

It’s personal. (meaning: It’s not business.) (bank)

In each case, the slogan was designed to reference a close, even intimate, working relationship. Some clients prefer to be reassured and reminded, on a frequent basis, that a vendor or partner has their interests top of mind at all times.

Consider that what is personal from a client’s perspective may not be reciprocal. Many clients think primarily of themselves and may have a limited interest in the individual private lives of their contacts.

Copywriter Deirdre Rienzo wrote about her dog in her newsletter and invited subscribers to send photos of their pets. The response was overwhelming.

LinkedIn coach John Nemo recommended sharing “something personal from your non-work life . . . once or twice a day as part of your LinkedIn status updates.”

Let me be blunt. I do not care about your pet, the (extra) ordinary exploits of your progeny or your awesome (tiresome) visit to Nepal.

As I commented to Nemo and Rienzo, if there is a business lesson to be gleaned, then summarize and explicate it. Otherwise, I will look elsewhere for inspiration and connection. I might even unsubscribe to your newsletter. The reader’s attention is yours to lose.

Following this guideline, here is the takeaway: a business consultant in North Carolina read Nemo’s post and agreed with my response. She contacted me, and we chatted about our respective practices. A few weeks later, she referred a client to me.

It was Business. Not Personal. That’s how I began working with a former CIO on an article about lessons learned from implementing enterprise technology to improve performance.

This Month’s Tip

Think: What’s the earth-shattering news about your morning coffee? People who announce on social media where and with whom they have consumed a breakfast drink flabbergast me. Can you specify the value-added information or societal significance of your inability to prepare a hot beverage at home? Alternatively, invite me to sample one with you, so we can become better acquainted and consider ways to work together.

Contact

Where do you draw the line between business and personal in your Communications? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s clarify where the boundaries are.

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Turn Your Networking Inside Out

You probably know someone who is a resource for a connection.

It’s a mystery to me why people say they hate networking.

When asked their best source of new customers, most business owners say referrals.

What is the flip side of referrals?

Networking.

Everyone makes referrals of professionals, with whom they’ve previously worked, to contacts who need someone with that particular skill. We all pass names around our network.

For those who claim to hate networking, think instead how you might make – and receive – referrals to and from people in your various circles.

These circles include formal organizations, such as professional membership associations and networking groups, current and former clients, vendors and partner organizations, even friends, family and members of your faith community.

It’s amazing how far your reach will extend when your approach is focused on referrals, not networks.

Here’s an example:

A neighbor asked me for a referral to an engineer to evaluate the repair work the condominium board had arranged for her friend’s terrace. Because I did not know any engineers, I directed her to Fred Basch, an architect and former client. Fred named an engineering firm, saying the project “is right up their alley.”

Referral made. Problem solved.

The sequence of emails was completed in less than two hours.

Everyone knows someone worth knowing. Who might be the intermediary who can introduce you to a prospective client or your next hire? When there is someone for whom you’d like to do a good turn, think about the people in your circles (or networks) who might be useful to that person – or who might have a colleague who could suggest the resource the contact seeks.

This Month’s Tip

Whom might you offer and whom do you seek to meet? Members of a networking group can provide mutual referrals in an exchange exercise. Each participant writes the profession of a contact they’d like to help on a 3 x 5 card (offer) and requests a person with a specific occupation or employee at a company they want to meet (seek) on another card. Every pair of cards gets passed around the room, so all attendees can see each one. Invariably, a match will materialize.

For example, a grantwriter, who wanted to enhance her LinkedIn profile, learned about a very active LinkedIn user. That referral helped her draft emails to request recommendations from clients.

Contact

Let’s brainstorm about the people among your professional and personal connections. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s consider how so you can make and earn the referrals that will promote business growth for your contacts and yourself.

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Six Tips for Your Mid-Year Communications Check-up

Conduct a Self-audit of Your Communications

Nonprofit New York, formerly The Nonprofit Coordinating Committee (NPCC), created the Nonprofit Excellence Awards program with self-assessment tools. Participating nonprofit organizations conduct audits that help them evaluate their performance along specific metrics. The effort inevitably helps raise the bar in eight key areas of operations.

It’s exciting to see Communications placed so prominently among the criteria, next to governance and financial management, among others. NPCC held a workshop on Pathways to Excellence to share best practices in Communications; the discussion concisely presented six valuable nuggets that apply to all organizations: large and small, nonprofit, for profit and government.

Take a moment now to review your communications.

  1. Choose. Between Media Relations, Social Media, Website, Newsletter, Video, Annual Report and Marketing Collateral, it is unlikely your organization can deliver on all these projects equally well. Pick the ones that will have the greatest ROI for your group – based on dollars and donors — and support them with sufficient internal resources.
  2. Schedule. Create a Calendar that incorporates deadlines for events, email distribution, postal mailings, annual report and newsletters. Pre-populate Social Media posts whenever possible using automated tools, like TweetDeck.
  3. Empower. Front-line employees observe incidents and anecdotes in the moment. Encourage them to suggest story ideas as topics. Capture their insights and energy.
  4. Multiply. Once you’ve drafted content, distribute it widely. A narrative profile of a client published early in the year can be updated six months later, perhaps with a new photo. A new project can be re-visited with recent results and feedback from participants.
  5. Bifurcate. Write newsletters and annual reports that target hearts with photos and harness facts with charts. Many donors will connect to the personal stories; other supporters want to see outcomes. All thrill to successes and progress in accomplishing the mission of your organization.
  6. Anticipate. Invariably, a crisis arises. Prepare for it by designating a single spokesperson. That person will assemble the facts, develop the context, indicate the steps being taken to address the situation, wait for reporters to call and be responsive to pointed questions, keeping within carefully set boundaries and perhaps on a 20-minute delayed basis that will permits additional strategizing.

This Month’s Tip

Match your Communications activities to your goals. Highlight select programs by consistently featuring stories about the participants or clients, services, staff, allied partners and results. To ensure consistency, coordinate with colleagues across the group for a steady flow of new content.

Contact

Is it time for you to conduct a self-assessment of your Communications activities? How will you Choose, Schedule, Empower, Re-purpose, Bifurcate and Anticipate for the balance of the year? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. We’ll review the past, present and future of your Communications.

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Thanks to the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee, whose workshop inspired this newsletter.

How Are You the Opposite?

Consider what you are compared to what you are not.

Here’s a striking contrast:
Sell your firm as an ENTER Strategy, Not as an EXIT Strategy.

This turn of a well-known phrase emphasizes what is to be gained and shifts the focus away from the owner, the price tag and the negotiation process.

It promotes the opportunity the acquirer has to gather expertise, penetrate new markets and add clients — all by using a buy rather than build approach. An acquisition/enter strategy may be an expedient and cost-effective solution to quickly expand in a desirable and growing market and niche.

Similarly, would you like to resolve your separation from your spouse in a private setting and at a lower fee, supported by an attorney, a divorce coach and a financial advisor?

Or would you prefer to duke it out in an expensive, protracted public battle over the future of your family? Do you relish a process that may devalue all your assets and leave every participant bitter, emotionally drained and physically exhausted?

That is the premise, admittedly exaggerated, of the collaborative divorce process as practiced by a recent client, the Collaborative Divorce Center of Coastal Virginia. Guided by legal and financial professionals and a child development specialist, divorcing couples invest in a customized, mutual agreement. They allocate their resources and arrange for the care and education of any children, instead of a third-party (judge) determining their individual and collective futures.

These examples demonstrate how an organization or company can effectively set itself apart by describing how it is the opposite of what is familiar.

I follow this path also. With an eclectic background in various industries (law, Wall Street, nonprofit) I made the logo of Falk Communications and Research an octagonal shape.

You might be a round peg and someone else, a square peg; I am not so easily categorized. I am an octagonal peg, someone who does not fit the mold.

Not being an industry insider often makes me a keener analyst who is better able to assess the situations of my clients. By tapping into a range of valuable experiences, I develop unique communications solutions.

This Month’s Tip

Consumer goods are well known for flaunting their other-ness. Apple urged customers to Think different. In the beverage industry, 7-Up was the Un-cola. For cars, one manufacturer nearly denied its heritage: This is Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile. Consider the attributes of your cohort to see where you might be most different and distinctive.

Contact

How might you define who you are in contrast to who you are not? Let’s take a traditional slogan or image and turn it on its head. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. We’ll devise ways that make you the opposite of the crowd.

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Thanks to Art Stevens, whose observation inspired this newsletter.

Your Co-Authored Article Reaches Influencers of Your Target Market

A colleague or client helps an industry outsider gain credibility.

How might a company offering specialized training promote its services?

Sometimes the best way to reach a target market is through its influencers.

The strategy I developed for Ed Katz, founder of the International Office Moving Institute (IOMI®), focused on attorneys, not the Human Resources professionals responsible for training employees.

Lawyers specializing in employment and contract law might be interested in a product like a video training series in best practices for moving office furniture, once they are aware of the context of such training.

Failure to observe best practices in moving bulky items, like large file cabinets and office desks, may result in serious injury to employees, which in turn may lead to worker compensation claims and subsequent litigation. In addition to the costs associated with workers compensation claims and litigation, damage to property, either property being moved or walls, elevators, doors, etc., may require additional payments for losses and damage.

In the event an employee sues a company or nonprofit for injury sustained in a move, documentation of prior training will provide an affirmative defense. The fact that an employee is trained in best moving practices will mitigate the claim and may lead to denial of any compensation.

Lawyers who are alerted to the long-term value of this video training series might refer this resource to their clients, especially at those businesses and nonprofit organizations where staff ask untrained maintenance staff to move heavy items or hire professional moving companies. In addition, for those lawyers that work in-house, they may mandate, as a best practice, such training for employees.

In order to reach these attorneys via a legal trade publication, a legal professional needed to be a co-author. Jacqueline Thorlakson, Senior Corporate Counsel for The Suddath Companies, a leading global moving company that is a long-time client of Katz, agreed to co-write an article about the video training series.

Working together, Katz and Thorlakson developed a forceful argument on the need for training employees at various steps in the moving process to prevent any accidents that may occur:

• Before the move: preparing to deal with situations in advance;
• During the move: managing issues as they arise; and
• After an accident involving injury or harm: training may be used as a corrective measure.

The combination of Katz’ hands-on expertise in moving heavy file cabinets, for example, coupled with Thorlakson’s citation of recent lawsuits, proved compelling to Employment Law 360. It is unlikely the subject of best practices in moving and training videos would have been reported by the legal publication in a different circumstance.

And it may be unlikely that attorneys specializing in employment and contract law would have pre-emptively spoken with their clients to ascertain whether they currently observe best practices in moving and whether they have trained their employees accordingly. Or, alternatively, that in-house counsel would have issued a mandate requiring all employees undergo training.

This Month’s Tip

Your co-author speaks to her peers in their language. An article may not be accepted by, for example, a legal publication, without relying on the legal expertise and writing style of an attorney.

Contact

If you are reaching out to influencers who might refer your services and products, an article in a trade publication, co-authored by a specialist, may help you hit the target. Let’s talk and line up some topics – and co-writers – for future publication. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. We’ll focus on the appropriate influencers.

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Take Your Idea for a Test Drive

Look at the world through the eyes of a colleague or collaborator.

Do you occasionally share an inspired idea with a trusted sounding board, so you might learn how others see the situation?

When you speak with someone who sits on a different side of the table, or a peer in another industry, you’ll see the plan through another lens, which can be very revealing.

Here’s how I learned this tactic. You probably receive too many non-business newsletters, especially from retailers who twice a week entice you to shop for the latest fashion.

One way to control the distraction of such promotional emails is to create an email address with an account dedicated to that purpose. Next, you deliberately do not place that email account on your computer and phone. Instead, you only review that email on a tablet, at night, while relaxing or watching TV.

From your perspective, you are not interrupted by tempting announcements of sales and new products during your busy work day.

Now the kicker: From a marketer’s perspective, you are a dream audience. Sitting on a comfy couch, scrolling through promotional emails, you are in a much more receptive mood. When you see a photo of a fashionable jacket — voila. Immersed in news of sales, you now are more likely to shop online than when you are scrolling through emails on your phone before your next meeting starts.

How about that 180 degree turn? What started as a defensive posture has now made you a vulnerable target.

We all have a blind spot when it comes to our genius ideas. Find people who can serve as a corrective mirror. Make it a practice to ask for their perspective and see the market through their eyes.

This Month’s Tip

Who might be your sounding board? Members of networking groups. Former clients and former co-workers. Set up a phone chat with a social networking contact whose thoughtful blog posts and comments exhibit insights. The retired executives who serve as coaches at SCORE counsel business owners for free; ask to be paired with someone who worked in your industry.

Contact

Let’s test drive your newest idea. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. We’ll take it out for a spin, so we can see if there are any bumps in the road ahead.

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Thanks to Joshua Sessler, whose observation inspired this newsletter.

Toot, Toot and Re-Toot Your Own Horn

Write, revise and re-format your content to reach new audiences.

According to novelist Willa Cather, “There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before.”

Consider this quote, enshrined on Library Way (East 41st Street in New York City), in a business context. It is a reminder that all business-related content may be (infinitely) re-purposed in various formats to reach new audiences.

Start with a client engagement that’s a success story.

Write the success story as a case study and post it to your website.

Add a graph, photo or other visual and publish it as an article for the company or nonprofit newsletter.

Then, situate the client write-up in a broader context as an article for an industry trade magazine or a professional membership association’s publication.

Email the case study or article to prospective clients, donors or collaborators.

Take a lessons learned format, and invite the client to speak on a panel at an industry conference, professional meeting, networking group or local chamber of commerce event.

Submit your client success write-up as a LinkedIn post.

Turn the case study into a guest post for a blog hosted by a colleague.

Lead a workshop where peers, prospects and collaborators may learn best practices, and also see you in action.

Post an abridged version of the workshop presentation on Slideshare.net.

Interview the client in a podcast and video, to be hosted on your website (and YouTube channel).

Ask a question in a LinkedIn group and on X (Twitter). Your client success story is the answer, so provide a link to one of the above formats, as appropriate.

Re-play the theme. Assemble a series of case studies, articles, panel presentations or workshop handouts in an ebook.

Finally, build upon your previous work; update it to reflect changes in law, regulation, demographics, industry trends or technology.

The same client-centered content has now been shared and promoted to: current contacts, prospective customers, professional colleagues, industry peers and potential collaborators, not to mention website visitors, event and conference attendees and the LinkedIn universe and X (Twitter) sphere in a dozen ways.

This Month’s Tip

Share your content with reporters. Case studies, articles, blog posts and presentations testify to your credentials as an authoritative expert. You will position yourself as a source to comment on solutions to problems faced by others in that industry or serving a similar population.

Contact

Don’t toot your own horn as a one-note song. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s jazz up your client success in multiple ways.

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Wake Up Your Sleepy Email Signature

S   t   r   e  t   c   h   to get more marketing action.

Email signatures are invaluable marketing tools. Take a good look at yours. Is it working for you or is it asleep?

Here’s a checklist to make the most of your real estate that passes under the eyes of at least 50 correspondents each day:

  1. Your signature is positioned immediately below the last line of your email message, not buried at the tail end of the chain of correspondence.
  2. Your direct phone number and cellphone number share a line and sit under your name, making it easy for the respondent to give you a call.
  3. Your company or organization’s name, hyperlinked to the website, invites a click to learn more about your products, services and programs.
  4. Your snappy tag line proclaims the value you create for customers.
  5. The headline of a recent news story trumpets your success links to a PDF of the article.
  6. Your current exhibition, an upcoming event you will host/sponsor or a trade show where you will speak/exhibit, is noted, with a link to register or make a reservation, if appropriate.
  7. Your product flyer or an informative brochure is available as a download, which requires an email address to facilitate future sales team follow-up.
  8. Your LinkedIn and X (Twitter) account information are listed, so contacts may connect with you on social media platforms.
  9. The latest issue of your newsletter or blog is hyperlinked, with an opportunity to subscribe.

This Month’s Tip

Your email signature is a fundamental component of your brand, as are your logo, website and business card.  Every team member should have an identical signature, to reinforce the organization’s positioning and messages. After a revised email signature template is developed, provide the model and instructions for an update to all personnel, along with a two-day deadline for implementation.

Contact

If it’s time to rouse your sleepy signature, contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. I can give it a once-over. Together, we’ll make it rise and shine.

For a more detailed discussion and an example of an email signature template, please see Harness the Marketing Power of Your Email Signature.

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Make the Most of Your Event Photos

Plan ahead to strengthen six relationships.

Photos have always been a central element of special events. In the digital age, these images are available almost immediately and can be distributed through various promotional outlets, as well as informally through social media.

Part of the process of taking photos is to integrate the RSVP list of the attendees with the post-event action.

Whether you host an Open House, fundraiser, concert or conference, become familiar with the names on the RSVP list beforehand. When the event begins, be flexible and alert to spontaneously capture moments that convey the activities of the company, as well as the relationships that the organization nurtures with its many partners and allies.

At a recent event for IMPACCT Brooklyn, a nonprofit focused on affordable housing, a guest asked me how the photos being taken at the evening reception might be used.

In addition to the organization’s own promotional brochures and website, plus social media activity, I identified some key opportunities for cultivating relationships with attendees and their respective audiences.

  1. Elected officials: The Assemblymember and City Councilmember who spoke at the event will likely include the photos of their attendance in their constituent newsletters.
  2. Partners: Real estate developers and bankers work with the nonprofit to develop and finance apartment buildings with affordable housing. They may place the photos in their marketing literature and other external communications to document their Community Reinvestment Act activities and relationships with the nonprofit sector.
  3. Allied organizations: Like-minded nonprofits, neighborhood associations and local merchant groups could share the photos in their member newsletters as an update of activities and changes in the community.
  4. Funders of the nonprofit: Photos that record how the group has expanded its operations, thanks to the support received from a foundation, are a confirmation that the grant is being deployed effectively.
  5. Media outlets: Reporters who were unable to attend a public event, such as IMPACCT’s ribbon-cutting at its new office, might use a photo in their news coverage.
  6. Clients, employees, Boardmembers and donors: Photos of workshop participants, staff and supporters could be included in the organization’s own newsletters, marketing literature, website — even on the walls of the offices. These shots underscore the personal connection the organization builds with clients, similar to the snapshots of celebrities who dined at a restaurant.

Of course, the attendees might eventually add your photos to their websites and re-distribute them through their social media presence.

In sum, photos document the event and ultimately may be shared to strengthen the relationships between the host, event participants and their respective organizations. That bonding process became my goal when I accompanied Deirdre Scott, Executive Director of Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA), to an event held at Hostos Community College. I noticed a Hostos photographer taking photos; I asked if he would like to take a shot of a small group that included a Director from Hostos, who is also a Boardmember at BCA.

That Hostos connection compelled him to agree to take the photo. Later, the photographer and I exchanged business cards. When he emailed me the group photo, I replied and identified the BCA Boardmembers in the group, so that he might include their names in any future publication of the photo.

This Month’s Tip

Make a list of photos to be taken at an event, as if you plan a wedding. Prepare to stage photos with the management team, Boardmembers, key staff and special guests. Hover near the principals, with the photographer ready to aim and shoot. Keep groups to a maximum of five people. Note the name of anyone who is not immediately familiar, to identify the person for a caption and perhaps share the photo with the attendee later.

Contact

Ready to work with a photographer at your next event? You’ll have a bigger smile when you’ve anticipated how to use the photos in the weeks after the reception. You might enjoy the event even more if I direct the photographer for you. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141.

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Listen to Aretha: RESPECT

Respect and lessons from other languages.

When you studied Spanish, French or German, you learned there is a formal and informal degree of addressing another person. Generally, it’s best to use the formal — Usted, Vous or Sie — to be polite, especially at the start of the relationship.

When the other speaker indicates she is amenable to informal address, she will tell you to use Tú, Tu or Du.

As Aretha Franklin sang, from the other’s perspective, communication is about R E S P E C T.

Treat your clients and potential customers with respect — during every in-person and electronic interaction.

These people may soon pay your fees or be in a position to refer others to you. Lack of respect may cause a prospect to look away from you and turn instead to competitors for products and services.

Two recent emails from Public Relations industry professionals violated the norms of polite customer correspondence, reminding me that we all need to pay heed and reflect on the lessons from Aretha.

Hey
The first was a sales pitch that began: Hey Janet,.

When I replied to the sender, I mentioned my name was Janet and not Hey. I received a follow-up note, again: Hey Janet,.

I replied I was offended at twice being addressed Hey.

This complaint led to a prompt apology, which was accepted.

DUDE
The subject line of the second email: DUDE. Seriously, OPEN my email already! (sic)

The Hey email was from a sales rep, who, with two years experience, should have known better.

The DUDE message was from a well-known senior Public Relations consultant with nearly 20 years experience.

Though this DUDE subject line is eye-catching, it is akin to the language of high school students and unlikely that an award-winning, college-level Public Relations instructor wrote it.

I responded that I found the subject line DUDE disrespectful. Surprisingly, the reply was by no means apologetic, but contrarian. According to this communications professional, if the use of DUDE or other terminology to which one personally does not relate is offensive, the recipient should unsubscribe.

Draw the Line
Where do you draw the line between informal and formal email correspondence with prospective customers and current clients?

This Month’s Tip

Do your colleagues treat your clients and prospects with respect? It’s polite to begin an email with Sidney, or Dear Leslie,. These forms of address acknowledge the virtual distance between the writer and the recipient and do not overstep the bounds the way that Hey Nicky, does. Write complete and grammatically correct sentences. Use restraint in tone, limit exclamation points and avoid emoticons. Finally, consider that the email might be forwarded to the CEO or another senior executive who has the final say-so on the buy decision.

You and your colleague worked very hard to get the reader’s attention; don’t let your email be discarded because it was disrespectful.

Contact

Are your coworkers speaking the same language as your potential clients and showing them appropriate respect? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s review your company’s standard emails in this light.

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Orient Your Newsletter

Adopt a reader-centered approach.

Your newsletter waits patiently in a recipient’s mailbox.

Once opened, you have the reader’s attention.

  • Their attention is yours to lose.
  • You gave them a gift and then you walked away.
  • What will the reader think or do next?

Think of a reader’s attention like a person’s gaze. How fragile it is! At any moment, a phone call, knock on the door or sudden air conditioner blast could distract her eyes from the newsletter’s article.

Their attention is yours to lose. Accordingly:
Build trust and cultivate a solid relationship.

  • Deliver timely and useful information.
  • Provide relevant documents and links.
  • Position your staff as accessible experts.
  • Reach out to potential collaborators and competitors in a gesture of good faith.

You gave them a gift and then you walked away.
Lead a reader to feel good about your organization or company.

  • Remind him of the solid work and accomplishments, to which he may have contributed or from which he benefited.
  • Keep volunteers involved.
  • Connect with elected officials and local business leaders.
  • Maintain contact with alumni.

What will the reader think or do next?
Guide the reader to deepen her relationship with your group.

  • Drive the reader to a specific page on the website.
  • Make it easy for the recipient to share your newsletter.
  • Promote advocacy.
  • Encourage RSVPs and donations.

Is it time to orient your newsletter and implement a reader-centered approach? Let’s write a plan to hold onto your reader’s attention. Call me at 347.256.9141 or email at Janet@JanetLFalk.com.

See also Make Your Five W’s Reader-Centered.

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Radio Interview + Digital Links = Infinite Audience

Use links to promote it.

Radio interviews are no longer time-sensitive; they do not evaporate after they are broadcast.

In the digital age, anything that was aired may be captured, re-purposed and merchandised to promote your services and programs.

Senior care advisor Joanna Leefer spoke about options and resources for seniors in two radio interviews.

She shared tips on how to search for an appropriate nursing home for a family member.

Leefer also addressed the misconceptions seniors and their family members may have about the financial and government resources available for medical care.

Here’s what happened next:

  • She copied the long URL of the recorded interviews from the two radio stations’ websites and created bitly links; these shorter links are easier to share in emails, on websites and on social media.
  • She summarized each discussion in a phrase and added that to her email signature, embedding the links, like this:

Regards,
Joanna Leefer
Radio Interview: Tips to Locate a Nursing Home for Your Aging Parent (Part 1 , 25 minutes)
Radio Interview: 3 Common Misconceptions Families Have About Eldercare Options (38 minutes)

  • The interviews are prominently displayed on her website.
  • She also includes a reference to the interviews whenever she contacts organizations interested in senior care issues to secure speaking engagements.

All in all, the third-party approval by these radio interviewers, who are objective observers, testifies to Leefer’s knowledge in the eldercare field. This is reassuring to prospective clients. It also gives the Chair of the Program Committee confidence that Leefer will deliver a quality program when addressing their group.

Is radio an appropriate medium to reach your target audience? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s consider how to secure radio interviews and then how to promote them, so they continue to broadcast your expertise.

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Make Your Pro Bono Client Newsworthy

Be active and use your perspective as an insider and observer

You contribute your professional expertise in marketing, law, finance, operations or management to your work as a board member or volunteer of a nonprofit organization.

Equally important is your unique perspective highlighting the group’s programs and services.

In addition, you offer a reality check of how other audiences may view the nonprofit’s activities.

Here is where these multi-faceted roles of professional expertise, inside champion and outside observer coalesce.

As a board member or volunteer, you may suggest to the Executive Director, or perhaps the Director of Operations or Development, a quarterly audit of the top programs in order to identify the aspects that might prove most newsworthy.

  • Review services and events with the goal of pinpointing the larger social or educational issues that they address — literacy, job training or health services, as examples — for an under-served population or community.
  • List three bullet points that summarize the essence of each program in terms of its results and impact.

When you focus on those services that, on behalf of society, Save Time, Save Money or Bring More Joy to individuals and the community, the organization is on its way to attracting more news coverage that may draw donations, attendees and grants, as well as support from allied groups,the business community and elected officials.

My pro bono work with the Roosevelt Island Historical Society (RIHS), which holds lectures and tours promoting the history of New York City’s former Welfare Island, has challenged me to define the newsworthy angle of these events — with the goal to increase attendance and earned revenue.

The recent RIHS installation of the long-lost lamppost base, once a part of the Queensboro Bridge, represented a highly visual news opportunity. It was reported in 2001 that the lamppost base had been removed from the Bridge in 1976, and was missing ever since.

By linking the installation of the 6,000 pound lamppost base to the 30-plus year disappearance, the event became newsworthy, resulting in articles and photos in The New York Times and DNAinfo.com.

Your pro bono client may not have monumental news like this; still, you can create a context for its programs to be connected to a current or perennial social issue. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s talk soon to help this group land its own news story. And if you work at a nonprofit, let’s review the programs together to create that news angle.

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Are You Find-able Online?

Maximize your online presence

An out-of-the blue email prompted me to consider how easy it is to re-connect with someone and what another person might find out about me online.

A long-lost acquaintance emailed me the same day my name, quote and photo were published in The New York Times. When I asked how she was able to get in touch with me, she responded that she conducted a search online and found my company website, which displays my email address (and phone number).

What about YOU?

Take five minutes NOW to conduct an Internet search of your own name. Your objective is to see which websites and social networks are listed in the search and make sure you appropriately connect those listings to your company’s or nonprofit’s website.

Start the search with Google.com, followed by Bing.com and then Yahoo.com; that adds up to 87.5% of global searches. (The remainder is Baidu at 10.2%, which is used in China, plus some minuscule search engines.)

Your LinkedIn profile probably appears first among the results. With its international database of 364 million members, LinkedIn outranks most websites.

Perhaps next on the list are your X (Twitter) and Facebook accounts; their enormous constituencies boost their rankings as well.

If you own a business or lead a nonprofit, a reference to your company’s or organization’s website might follow mention(s) of your name.

These personal profiles clearly list and link to your company or nonprofit’s website, of course. If they don’t, link them now.

Here are two ways to update your Personal LinkedIn Page:

Customize your LinkedIn Name/URL.
On your LinkedIn page, go to Profile and click Edit profile.
Under your photo, you have the link: www.linkedin.com/pub/xxx/1/234/56
Click on Edit.
Now you are in the panel where YOU control WHAT is VISIBLE in your profile.
Before you do anything with that section, look to the right and go to Your public profile URL.
Click on Customize your public profile URL.
Now you can type your name XXXX without the number /1/234/56 gobbledy gook that LinkedIn automatically assigns.
If there is a duplicate of your name in LinkedIn, you can use a hyphen or an underscore between your first and last names to differentiate yourself.
Then click Set Custom URL. You’re done !

Post your company website — and related resources.
On your LinkedIn page, go to Profile and click Edit profile.
In the lower right corner of the box, click on the Rolodex card labeled Contact Info.
Next to X (Twitter, click on the pencil and add your X (Twitter) account.
Next to Website, click on the pencil and select the category Other. Then enter the name (or description) of your company and link to the homepage URL.
You may add two additional websites; I selected the category Other to post Public Relations Tips and link to the Newsletter section of my website, plus Articles on Public Relations with a link to the Publication section.

This is also the place to post the name of your blog (category: Other) and link to it.
(Note: most people do not take advantage of this promotional space; if they do, they use the default setting of Company website and Blog, which is not particularly informative.)
Then click Save.

Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. It’s time to make yourself more find-able and more compelling online.

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Playing Politics. Telling Your Story.

Make sure elected officials know how you contribute to your community.

Nonprofits and small businesses can improve their visibility in the community by establishing a connection with local elected officials and telling their story.

Once these politicians are acquainted with you, they’re able to advocate for you and help you secure funding or assistance. But they can only do so if they know who you are.

Your goal might be requesting or keeping discretionary funds allocated by a city councilmember or state legislator, being invited to participate in community projects or gaining access to information and in-kind resources, such as staff training. Clearly, it’s vital to be on a first-name basis with the elected officials who serve your neighborhood — and especially with their staff.

On Memorial Day Weekend, East Harlem Block Nursery hosted a block party and celebration of its 50th anniversary. Government leaders from the state, city and community were invited to mark the occasion.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and State Senator Bill Perkins joined in the celebration. Each spoke to the attendees and read a congratulatory proclamation. In addition, Mayor Bill de Blasio sent greetings and a representative of Comptroller Scott Stringer presented a commendation. And, an aide of Public Advocate Letitia James and an administrator from the Department of Education also attended.

In sum, four of the top four leaders of New York City and Manhattan (and their respective staffs) were apprised of the existence and success of this nonprofit, and its remarkable 50-year track record.

Here are photos of the politicians and aides who participated in the momentous day.

The opportunity for the Executive Director, teachers, parents and students to speak with these officials and administrators, plus give them a personal tour of the school, was invaluable. In this first year of New York City’s Universal Pre-Kindergarten, funding for the program at the nursery is precarious, so building relationships with various arms of city government is a priority.

The fact that several officials sent their aides was not necessarily a disappointment. These public servants are likely to run for office themselves someday, so it makes sense to start connecting with them now. As an example, New York City Councilmember Vincent Ignizio, who once was an aide representing a Staten Island councilmember at an event, was later elected to serve that very district. From staffer to elected official — a lesson to remember.

Are your local officials acquainted with your business or nonprofit group? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s consider how best to introduce you and get the attention of the appropriate elected leaders.

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Save Time. Save Money. Make More Money.

It’s not about you, but what you can do for them.

Recently, a nonprofit professional at a workshop on media relations posed this question: “How can I get a reporter to write a feature article about our group?”

My reply was, “Why should anyone else care about what your organization does? Let’s find something about your nonprofit that will capture an outsider’s attention and be newsworthy to the media.”

Consider: how does your organization, product or service help others to:

  • Save Time
  • Save Money or
  • Make More Money

This perspective on time and money works on two levels. First, daily, we look to save our personal time and money: a magazine subscription is cheaper than buying each issue from a newsstand; plus, a copy is delivered to the home, so we subscribe, never missing an issue.

Second, society seeks to save its time and taxpayers’ money: smart nonprofits (and companies) provide products and services that can produce savings for one individual and for many people.

In applying this newfound perspective, another workshop attendee spoke about Worksites for Wellness. The group advocates that companies provide rooms on the premises where female employees can privately nurse their infants or pump milk; the breast milk is refrigerated for a few hours, and then given to the child later.

Nursing mothers care about this issue, of course. Who else might support the group? And why should they care?

Look at how a lactation room saves time and money: Women employees are more productive when they can feed their babies or pump milk onsite. Their children are healthier, because they absorb the mother’s antibodies and resist bacteria and viruses. Consequently, these mothers take fewer days off to care for sick infants.

In sum, employers make more money. Someone who is not a nursing mother can recognize the upside and appeal of granting women privacy for an hour or so per day during a few months. Doing so, the company (and society) reaps the benefit of a more productive and loyal employee who is not distracted on the job or absent caring for a baby with a cold.

How does the save time, save money paradigm apply to your business or nonprofit? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s brainstorm together.

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Why Your TV News Interview Never Aired

Sometimes stations butcher a news story.

In industry lingo, the news story was bumped, cut or killed.

Those are the terms that reporters (and Public Relations professionals) use to describe the assault on the fruits of their labors.

Typically, a television reporter visits an event, conducts an interview with the principal organizer of the program and talks with the engaged participants. She then gathers her notes and summarizes the activities on camera, weaving facts into the reason for the day’s event and the implications for the future.

Unless high priority or breaking news suddenly arises.

The evening news is like serving a pie to a large family; it has to be divided so that everyone gets a slice. With national, local and world news, plus sports, weather and scheduled features, some slices will be bigger than others.

Invariably, breaking news grabs the largest slice and the planned news stories are subject to:

  • Bump: the interview does not even take place;
  • Cut: the segment is abbreviated and relevant footage is not broadcast;
  • Kill: the story never gets aired.

War, fire, stock market gyration or a politician’s exploits may wreak havoc on the interview carefully planned by a Public Relations professional.

Recently, a report of an event was broadcast without an interview that had taken place on location with program staff of the New York Foundation for Eldercare. The segment was cut short by news coverage of an airplane crash.

When that happens to your interview or segment — and it will happen someday — make the most of the coverage that you did receive by sharing the news story wherever possible, including X (Twitter), your website and your newsletter.

Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s consider how to promote your TV news coverage, even if the interview was left on the cutting room floor.

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The Three R’s of Crisis Communication

Plan ahead, because when a crisis arises, there’s no time for planning.

A broken or malfunctioning product.

Poor judgment.

Lapse in supervision.

A crisis may take many forms; the appropriate communications response generally follows this format: Regret, Recompense, Reform.

Known as the Three R’s, and similar to the education basics of Reading, (w)Riting and (a)Rithmetic, this approach to communication in a tense moment provides guidance and reassurance to management (and employees) when facing hurt and angry customers, accusatory press and the prospect of regulatory investigation.

At the earliest opportunity in the crisis moment, prepare a statement that addresses the situation and incorporates the following, to the extent that the underlying facts are available:

Regret: Apologize, simply and directly, to those affected, their families and the community. We are very sorry that this occurred and extend our sympathies to those who were hurt by ____ (the accident).

Recompense: Indicate that a replacement, coupon or other object of comparable tangible value will be issued to replace the damaged item. Customers whose packaged meatballs have the product code 49B7 should return them to the store where they were purchased for another package or a full refund.

Reform: In anticipation of a possible crisis, you may have contracted a consultant of impeccable reputation. State, by name if possible, that this consultant has been hired to investigate the circumstances and recommend steps that will immediately be implemented to ensure that the situation will not recur. We have hired Company X to review the situation and, based on that analysis and recommended procedures, we will implement changes and do our very best to make sure that this incident will never, ever happen again. 

Using this formula, consider the most likely scenarios: tainted product, breach of computer security, employee malfeasance, accident and loss of life, among others. Like the fire drill required to be held in your office building, conduct a simulation at least quarterly.

Are you ready for a moment in the spotlight, with customers and reporters shouting accusations at your company or organization? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s prepare now and trust that your practice session is never played out before a live audience.

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Why You? Why Now?

How to introduce yourself to reporters.

You probably recognize that reporters call people they know. They are less likely to call someone they have not heard of.

Reporters are professional skeptics. They will always ask two questions:

Why YOU? What makes you a credible and authoritative source?

Why NOW? You didn’t contact the journalist last week or last month. What is the reason anyone should pay attention to you now?

Here’s how to write an Executive Media Profile that answers these questions and establishes the same level of credibility as the competitor quoted last week.

1. In a five-line paragraph, summarize your areas of expertise. Select a few themes of interest to those who regularly seek your advice or services. This is not an extensive bio that lists your degrees and former job titles.

2. Make a list of three to five hot topics. Reporters focus on issues that affect readers and their businesses. In the best case, there is a clear bottom-line impact. Perhaps there is a change in the law or an industry regulation or a shift in consumer preference. Show your expertise and anticipate how this affects sales, operations and the market sector.

3. Use a bullet point format. Simply list the topics; do not use sentences and paragraphs. You’ll have time to elaborate on your ideas in a future conversation and interview.

4. Identify the publications read by your target market. Selectively contact the journalists who cover topics like yours with an email that answers the two questions: Why You and Why Now. Start by demonstrating you are familiar with their work: Your coverage of the ___ market prompted me to contact you and briefly share some thoughts on trends.

5. Follow-up with a call a week later. Reporters are as busy as yourself, so you’ll probably leave a phone message. Consider this a one-two punch and a foray into new territory. As Babe Ruth said, “Every strike brings me closer to my next home run.”

By establishing yourself as an authoritative and credible source, and by highlighting timely issues that readers need to focus on, you will place yourself in the reporter’s database for future reference, or even on a to-do list for a call today.

Ready to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141.A sample Executive Media Profile will be emailed so you can get started.

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Do The Right Thing

What goes around, comes around.

Some say Pay it Forward.

Others say Create good karma.

It’s a professional responsibility, for me, to be alert to news opportunities — even for former clients.

When Staten Island Legal Services (SILS) held a fundraising luncheon in April 2014, in part to mark its 10th anniversary, I spoke with the reporter from The New York Law Journal whom I had invited to cover the event. She asked to be notified of any celebration on the actual anniversary date, which was December 8. The project ended soon after the luncheon, and SILS and I amicably parted company.

Early in December, at my suggestion, SILS Executive Director Nancy Goldhill contacted the reporter and secured an interview. Goldhill used the opportunity to cite impressive statistics of the thousands of people whose cases SILS had handled over the years: families recovering property damage from Hurricane Sandy, victims of domestic violence, homeowners avoiding foreclosure and immigrants securing legal status.

Success! The news story in The New York Law Journal highlighted SILS and its 10-year track record. It even re-published a photo of Goldhill and the honorees from the April luncheon.

This article put SILS in front of New York attorneys, a key audience of current and potential supporters — thanks to my reminder to this former client.

You can join me and start (or renew) the habit to do a good turn, make a referral and introduce two acquaintances. Do it often and do it selflessly, with no thought of recompense.

Please let me know the unsought favor you’ve done. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. They say I get half-credit for an assist in good karma.

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Networking Towards the King

One Degree of Separation from the King of Spain

Everyone knows someone worth knowing.

It’s true. I know someone who was in daily contact with a future king.

Years ago, Maria, a teacher at the Madrid, Spain elementary school the young prince attended, placed a newspaper ad for a roommate and I needed a place to live. Voila! Today, she would have used Craigslist or another online networking site that helps people with shared interests and needs make connections.

The Executive Director of a nonprofit where I performed pro bono work introduced me to a colleague, Greg Cohen of Cause Effective, who advises nonprofits on strengthening communities and fundraising. He later referred me to his contact, Nancy Goldhill; he thought my experience working with attorneys and my knowledge of Staten Island, where I had worked in Public Relations, would be helpful to draft a newsletter for Staten Island Legal Services (SILS).That project bloomed into media outreach and news coverage for the SILS fundraising luncheon.

Networking does work, when you work with it. If the traditional networking at events does not appeal to you, review these tips. Also, try reaching out to connections in the virtual sphere. Whether in person or online, networking may not lead directly to someone you want to meet. It does, however, put you closer to their circle of contacts and referrals.

Consider your own many connections and who might stand in their circles. Because you know me, you’re already only two steps away from el Rey Felipe VI; you’re also one step from a technology start-up’s CEO and from a musician who plays viola da gamba.

Together, let’s brainstorm how to reach out to someone who knows someone who knows that person. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s bring you one contact closer to that potential connection.

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How Derek Jeter Managed the Media

To Answer — or Not to Answer.

How about a lesson in dealing with the media from Derek Jeter? The former athlete survived intense attention in the cut-throat baseball industry and with a company constantly in the spotlight.

“I learned early on in New York, the toughest media environment in sports, that just because a reporter asks you a question doesn’t mean you have to answer.” Derek Jeter

You, too, may face a tough question from a reporter. A journalist might ask you a leading question, in an effort to prompt you to repeat some colorful  — and potentially damaging — words in the question.

Here are four ways you can be like Jeter in your response:

  1. When a reporter tries to put words in your mouth, close your lips and swallow. Take the time you need to come up with a reply.
  2. Just say no. Don’t answer the question altogether. Ignore it. Move on to the next question.
  3. Answer the question you want to answer. Say, “That’s a good question and we are here to talk about the price of popcorn,” or whatever you want to speak about.
  4. Respond and give an answer that is not quotable or newsworthy.

You can receive more tips on media interviews by subscribing to this newsletter for pointers that will help you keep your eye on the ball when you get a nice or nasty question thrown at you.

When you’re ready, contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s practice hitting the question out of the park.

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This discussion has been lightly edited for evergreen content.

Your News Article is Just the Beginning

Capitalize on the moment.

Consider this: a trade newsletter publishes a rave article about your business or organization, like this one.

Congrats! Keep the momentum going by amplifying readership and thought leadership through one or several of the following suggestions, arranged from easiest to most time-intensive:

  • Create a few bitly links; shorten the article’s long URL, so that you can identify how many people clicked on each link to read the article and where they found it.
  • In your email signature, provocatively summarize an essential point made in the article and embed a link.

Regards,
   Janet Falk
Are Communications an Investment or Expense?

  • Post on your LinkedIn profile. Ask a question in your LinkedIn groups to spark debate or provide a solution to a recurring problem for customers. (The less self-serving the better.)
  • Summarize the article as a question to which your insights are an answer or case study, and mention it on X (Twitter), with yet a third bitly link.
  • If you maintain a company or nonprofit page on Facebook, post a link to the article there.
  • After you secure permission from the publication, which may charge you a fee, print the article as a PDF. Now upload the PDF to your website and post a link to it on the home page (for the next month or until it becomes outdated), as well as in the news section, and wherever else on the website might be appropriate.
  • Use the article as a calling card to introduce yourself to other reporters. Now that you are recognized as an authority, share your expertise and offer an update. Mention some ideas that were not discussed in the article, and are particularly relevant to this publication’s audience. Suggest another, related topic where you can offer insight.
  • If you often read and comment on industry blogs, reach out to those bloggers; present yourself as a guest writer or suggest an interview.
  • As a member of a business, industry or professional organization, get in touch with the chair of the Education or Program Committee. Propose that you and a client speak as panelists at a meeting to explore this topic in more depth, with examples and lessons learned.
  • Contact the editors of industry and membership association newsletters and offer to revise the article’s themes as a case study for colleagues.

You worked hard to get that news article; now make it work for you!

When you want to increase the impact of your media coverage, let’s review the best ways to build on its reach. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141.

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Is Your Website Up to Date?

If your website predates 2011, then plan for a re-launch.

According to designer Peter Levinson, websites have a three-year design cycle, after which their designs look dated.

Having launched my website in 2009, I realized an update was long overdue.

But what finally prompted the re-launch was, admittedly, peer pressure. Other websites use a WordPress format. The clean minimal look, with lots of white space, apparently has become the standard since 2011.

Another concern was to respond to visitor behavior, based on best practices. And the website analytics for my site also played a role in the re-design.

Online activity has grown exponentially and users’ expectations are high. Creating a clear layout that would be user-friendly and conform to the market was a priority.

Once the process was underway, it became appropriate to update the content. Editing the paragraphs succinctly, as well as incorporating more recent projects and successes, were the next steps.

Finally, the re-designed website assembled multiple guest blog posts and newsletter articles that were dispersed widely.

You are invited to take a look and let me know what you think of the re-design.

If it’s been a few years since your website was launched or revised, sit up and see the site through a first-time visitor’s eyes. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s consider the content and layout that might best serve your goals and engage your audience by means of a website audit.

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The Tao of How

A three-way discussion brings the mission to life.

How might day-in, day-out routine work command reporter interest? By focusing on the HOW.

Start-up company Ultranauts Inc.  provides quality assurance testing to the digital media sector, a labor-intensive process essential to the launch of every website, software program and app.

The company has a mission to employ testers who are high-functioning individuals on the Autism Spectrum. Their heightened abilities are an exact match for software testing — off-the-charts pattern recognition, attention to detail and tolerance for repetition.

This is an example of when the HOW — the tapping of a unique talent pool — makes a business a potential news story.

After I arranged for a reporter to speak with the founder about the company and its mission, I introduced an employee and a client to round out the story.

This was not the usual company and client case study I’ve described before. The participation of the tester was key to the success of this article, because the mission of the start-up is the employment of exceptional people.

Is it your HOW that makes your company or nonprofit distinctive? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s talk about ways to position your mission to attract reporter interest.

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This discussion has been lightly edited to reflect the company’s new name, Ultranauts. Its mission remains the same.

It Takes Two: You and a Client

Let your clients do the talking.

Naming and defining a problem unseen by potential clients  — plus offering a solution — can be a powerful component of your Communications Plan.

Create an AHA moment by featuring a successful client engagement in your outreach. An example of your actual services and expertise is far more effective than hyperbole and self-promotion.

When pitching a story idea to reporters, I included two mini case studies of customers who had used the services of my client Independent Merchant Group (IMG) to audit — and then reduce — their credit card transaction processing fees and charges.

When hotel management professionals read the resulting articles in Hotel Online and Hotel News Now, they learned how other hotels saved thousands of dollars annually by lowering their credit card transaction processing fees. These prospects recognized the possibility of fee reductions for their own locations.

More than 800 hotel CFOs and finance professionals, from regional hotel chains and boutique properties, called IMG to learn more about this service.

You have customers who will attest to your terrific service or product. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s find a way for your clients to talk for you and about you.

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Count on — Don’t Discount — the Intern Reporter

Make sure your pitch gets seen.

After identifying target publications for a new client, it was time to search the website of each newspaper and news service to locate recent stories on a niche topic and contact the most appropriate reporters.

Bingo! A weekly had covered a related angle six months before. That good news was tempered by the realization that the author was not on staff, with an email on the masthead, nor a freelancer listed in a media database. He was an intern.

The problem: How to reach out, capture the intern/reporter’s interest and move the idea for news coverage forward?

His unusual name made it easy to locate the intern’s X (Twitter) account. A message referencing the prior article, and an offer of an alternative view of that subject, prompted an email reply.

My response, with the pitch sent to reporters at the other target publications, was copied to the News Desk. After all, the intern would not be granted authority to pursue the story without an editor’s okay, so this note would catch the editor’s eye.

It worked; all went according to plan. A staff reporter contacted me regarding the pitch forwarded by the News Desk’s editor. After that conversation, I sent additional background and introduced an attorney as the source for more details. An interview followed and here’s the resulting article.

Let’s find ways to put your name in front of more reporters, freelancers and media interns. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347-256-9141.

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Get Local Media Coverage, Even When You Are Not Local

Tailor the news angle for success.

How might a national organization or out-of-town company gain media favor with the hometown news?

Grow instant local roots. Show area reporters the relevance of your national campaign to their audience or share a local affiliation with your out-of-town operations.

Here are three examples where the local hook to a pitch caught the reporter’s eye — at a daily newspaper, a community-based weekly and a radio show.

A reporter from the Bangor Daily News was already planning to attend the Homegrown Maine trade show with 75 vendors in the medical marijuana market.

How did the New York-based website MarijuanaDoctors.com create a local presence? Its database includes doctors from Maine, prompting the reporter to request more details about the website.

On behalf of the New Jersey-based Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation’s national fundraising campaign, a volunteer in suburban Detroit spoke to a local reporter. The profile prompted additional donations to the cause.

On radio station WHNZ in Tampa, the Triple Negative Breast Cancer interviewee highlighted the six fundraisers held across the state of Florida.

Are you interested in generating local media attention to expand your geographic reach? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s build a local presence worth talking about.

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No Photos, Please

Consider the downside of a photo in a news story.

Getting a company name or a cause in the news isn’t the goal. Indeed, having targeted audiences take action because they read about you is the name of the game.

The law firm Katz Melinger filed a sexual harassment case; the defendants included a top-rated cable television show, its production company and the network on which the show aired.

A summary press release was distributed, with a link to a pdf of the case filed in court. As expected, the celebrity news website TMZ jumped on the case and quoted some salacious details, prompting the show’s fans to post comments that degraded the client’s character.

In preparing their coverage of the case, two local newspapers contacted the law firm seeking photographs of the client. How would these requests be handled?

After writing about the photo that attracted 3,000 visitors, it might be surprising that my counsel was to not provide photos. Once the client’s image became accessible online, it could be manipulated in ways that could be personally demeaning and not helpful to the case. No photos were sent to the newspapers and the stories were published without them.

Simultaneously, Broadcasting & Cable reported the case objectively. Perhaps this article was more damaging, from the defendants’ perspective, than the gossip-style news stories. Advertisers are often skittish about adverse publicity that might affect them also, and networks assiduously keep their advertisers happy.

As a result of the media coverage, an attorney for a defendant contacted the law firm the same afternoon. That one phone call was the goal of the media outreach — and it was achieved without a photo.

Are you focused on the end game of driving target audiences to your phone or website, rather than media coverage for its own sake? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s address the upside and downside of sharing your story and photos — consistent with your business strategy.

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PS As for The New York Daily News and The New York Post, they easily located other photos and images to round out their articles.

Is the NY Times the Best Media Outlet for Your Story?

Another media outlet may have more impact.

Consider: A company in a niche healthcare field was preparing to announce the first-ever broadcast of a TV commercial on cable networks.

By offering an exclusive story to a reporter on the media beat at Ad Age, who had written on a related subject, I secured top-tier industry coverage.

Plus, because of this extensive online platform, the article would link to the one-minute commercial on the company website, adding to the impact.

The news story was published on AdAge.com (and its sister website TVWeek.com); the press release was distributed, and the news spread like wildfire on  X (Twitter) and Digg. This activity led to follow-on stories on other online outlets: Gawker, The New York Business Journal, Huffington Post and USA Today, as well as news websites in Mexico and France.

As a result, there were more than 92,000 views of the video advertisement on the website in four days.

When the commercial aired, the phones rang nonstop.

Sometimes the conventional newspapers (The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal) are the most appropriate; when they are not, other venues can be highly effective in telling your story.

After you’ve seen the ad, you’ll get an idea of how sensational news might have to be to merit coverage in the NYT or WSJ, as noted by communications expert Sandra Holtzman.

Have you some vital news to share and need to identify the right publication and reporter? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s review the angles and the outlets that make the most sense to promote your story.

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Build in Post-Marketing Success

Nine tactics to get more mileage and impact.

You’ve written a thought piece or client update; what should you do next?

Actually, you might have asked this question before you put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard.

You can easily produce content marketing, client updates and communiqués that are geared to post-marketing purposes, including media outreach. Consider implementing these nine suggestions to make your write-ups more actionable and quotable early in the creative process, as detailed here in Maximize Client Alerts in the newsletter Marketing the Law Firm (February 2014).

At the moment of drafting the client update or alert, use an acronym, alliteration, rhyme or reference to pop culture to make the message more quotable. This phrase will resonate to current and potential clients receiving your latest insight and also to reporters to whom you as author are introduced as an expert source.

Similarly, a visual image or an analogy can help illustrate a technical point and more memorably reinforce it than a straight-forward, text-only statement.

Care to see more examples of how to build in post-marketing as you develop content? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s talk soon about how to make your client updates more quotable, memorable and actionable, to truly maximize their impact.

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Do You Track Communications as an Investment or Expense?

How do you categorize your Communications costs?

At a certain bank, opening a new account in the system requires an input: How did you hear about us?

This is a company that calculates its Public Relations, Marketing and Communications dollars as an investment, and not an expense, unlike others.

By tracking the HOW question over time, and in six locations, the bank fine tunes its activity in SEO, media outreach, outdoor advertising and other platforms.

A marketing investment is any expenditure that creates tools that drive value and impact sales, even after the cost to create the tool is spent. Examples are websites, media relations, videos and social media engagement, to name a few. These marketing investments yield a long-term ROI, greater than any one-time ad.

Communications activity is magnified and extended in the digital arena:

  • Print news articles are accessible online, sometimes with extra visual and audio content, with no expiration date.
  • Client newsletters, blogs and product literature PDFs form part of the main website.
  • Twitter activity and Facebook posts by customers, staff and observers are always available.

Even when prospects hear about your company from a news story, a commercial or a referral by a colleague, they probably will conduct some research online — to confirm the basics of location, products and price range or to obtain more specific information on features, customer reviews and comparable products.

Invest in Communications and Marketing and you meet these prospects more than halfway. Your digital tools and materials await discovery; they live indefinitely, well beyond their initial cost, yielding the highest ROI.

Are you prepared to invest in Communications to attract more customers and supporters? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s talk about allocating your budget to maximize the Return on Investment.

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Tell the Media — What Lies Ahead

Your Outlook for the New Year

Look in your crystal ball and tell the media what you see.

Everyone has an eye on the end of the year and wonders what the next 12 months will bring.

Think about the trends you’re anticipating in your industry or sector.

  • Who’s growing — and how?
  • Will the pace of consolidation continue, slow down or accelerate?
  • What is the forecast for demand for services?

You don’t have to go out on a limb. Simply consider:

  • what might happen;
  • why multiple factors will lead to the change ahead;
  • how it will affect market participants or clients.

Then, introduce yourself and your predictions to reporters and editors at relevant publications before December 11, to beat the publication’s deadline for year-end articles.

This was my plan of attack: Working with an attorney specializing in biotech, I emailed and called reporters, introducing him as source with insight into the IPO market.

A reporter at The Wall Street Journal exclaimed, “I need to talk to him; I was just assigned this story!” Naturally, I arranged the interview for that afternoon, resulting in a substantial quote in this article.

You can go wild with your outlook, or be reasonable, as long as your view has actionable and quotable insights.

Eleven months later, no one will remember how closely your predictions hit the mark. And you’ll have new ones for next year.

Is your crystal ball showing the future clearly ? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s brainstorm how you can authoritatively share your views.

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(This discussion has been lightly edited for evergreen content.)

How Your Photo Can Attract 3,000 People

Photos Attract Prospects and Visitors

Every Picture Tells A Story.

People respond more strongly to websites and brochures with photos. “Our brains process visuals faster, and we are more engaged when we see faces,” according to the Media Psychology Research Center.

Here’s how to get started:

Show customers using the product in an eye-catching shot. People actively engaged with your product — holding it, eating it — are a powerful endorsement. Who enters a restaurant with empty tables?

Have an employee speak with a client (or stand-in) for a photo. Add a caption that cites the impact of an intangible service: it saves time, saves money or generates an uptick in sales.

Put people in the scene. Visitors at parks point admiringly at the view and museum-goers enjoy the exhibition.

Potential attendees will project themselves into the photo. If a couple is shown pushing a baby in a stroller on a paved garden path, a prospective visitor will consider visiting with a parent who uses a wheelchair.

Share the photo with the press. The reporter will quickly grasp the excitement of an event or the beauty of a location and its appeal to readers and viewers.

Having a photo in hand makes it easy for the editor to include it in the article, without sending a staff photographer to your premises.

Because a digital camera costs only $100, every business and nonprofit group should purchase one and keep it handy. Snap away to capture satisfied clients, visits by dignitaries, activities in progress, special occasions and more.

Ready to stage your story-telling photo? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 2347.256.9141. Let’s talk about who and what might best promote your business in a photograph.

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PS Here is the photo that attracted 3,000 visitors to the Cherry Blossom Festival on Roosevelt Island.

Make Your Season’s Greetings Card Memorable

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Time to Send a Holiday Card.

You send a greeting card in December to clients, vendors, supporters, colleagues, VIPs and others.

Is your card having maximum impact?

Would the recipient notice if the sender was changed to Megabucks, Inc. or United Nonprofits?

Plan now to send a holiday greeting card that reinforces the brand and qualities that make your group distinctive.

Find a visual, design an image or take a photo that captures what is unique about your company or organization. Ideally, no one else could appropriate that creation and call it their own.

Use that image as the centerpiece of your holiday greeting, whether a printed card or an email message.

In January, when your recipient removes all the holiday cards taped to the office door, you can imagine her saying, “This is the card from the folks at DEF,” without opening the card to confirm the sender.

Or you may get an immediate email reply, in thankful appreciation of your distinctive note.

As a writer, I send an email with a Holiday Haiku. Most recipients recognize the difficulty of composing a 17-syllable seasonal poem and they remember reading it.

May I offer you some help creating a memorable visual or message for your holiday card, or your own haiku? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s brainstorm some ideas that align with your group and your successes.

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Back to School — As a Teacher

Showcase Your Insights.

September = School, for students, teachers and parents.

Executives in business and nonprofits need to keep current with best practices and new developments, so they also go to class.

Consider how you might share your expertise with contacts, clients and prospects in one or more of these venues:

Networking group: Some groups incorporate a 10-minute pitch by members into their regular meetings. Your networking contacts will feel more at ease referring their favorite clients to you after they see you in action and hear the impact of your products and services.

Give a guest lecture at a contact’s course: Someone you know may teach a continuing education class. Offer to give insights from the field in a 20-minute presentation.

Center for management training: Peruse the quarterly calendar of workshops and then propose an interdisciplinary session for their target market. By straddling two content areas, you create a niche.

Small business center and economic development group: Government agencies at the municipal and state level offer a variety of business management classes to support small and medium-sized enterprises. These businesses may soon grow big enough to need your services as a consultant.

Webinar: There are companies whose sole line of business is to host webinars for speakers to give sessions and promote their businesses. If you’re shy about facing a room full of new faces, you might prefer the digital broadcast space.

You may join me at Managing PR and Communications on Top of Everything Else, on Thursday, September 19, 2013 at 9:30 am at The Support Center for Nonprofit Management in New York City.

Or tell another contact.

You will not be quizzed afterwards.

Have you got a timely subject for a class or workshop? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141. Let’s consider where you might teach a session and promote your business.

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Drive More Traffic to Your Website — Without a Blog

No Blog?
No Problem!

You can write as a Guest Blogger.

Companies that frequently post on a blog attract as many as five times more visitors to their websites than companies that do not blog.

If you do not have a blog, you still can participate in the blogo-sphere: become a guest blogger.

Do the blogs you read publish work by others? If so, as appropriate, introduce yourself to the blogger/host and offer to write a guest blog post.

After the post is published, create a short bitly link to distribute your idea in the social media universe in the format of a question via the LinkedIn Groups to which you belong, with a summary answer and a link to your blog post. The topic may generate some comments — as well as drive traffic to your website, where readers can learn more about you.

I submitted a guest blog post, When Nonprofits Fail to Communicate, to a colleague and then shared it on X (Twitter) and LinkedIn. The editor of an online publication read it; she not only asked permission to re-publish it on their blog, she invited me to submit my own articles.

Of course, I accepted.

Here’s how you can prepare for your next professional association meeting: Pre-Marketing Can Maximize Your Success at a Networking Event, as published on Philanthropy Journal‘s blog.

Have you got a hot topic to blog about? Let’s consider where you might write a guest blog to get your word out. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141.

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Client + You @ Business Meeting = Speaking Success

Team Up for Speaking Success

What better testimonial of your expertise.

You belong to a business or industry professional organization, of course, to network with prospects and keep up-to-date on news and trends.

These monthly meetings offer an incredible opportunity for you — and a client — to showcase your expertise.

That’s why I suggested a client, Denise Shull, as a speaker to 100 Women in Finance, where I served on the Communications Committee.

As a panelist, Shull promoted her approach to risk management: understanding feelings, senses and emotions can improve decision-making by hedge fund traders — and by everyone else.

Her anecdotes recounting the impact of self-awareness struck a chord with 200 women executives in the hedge fund industry.

Plus, she sold nine copies of her book Market Mind Games: A Radical Psychology of Investing, Trading, and Risk.

Are you and a client ready to tell industry colleagues about your productive engagement? Let’s talk about where you might speak up for business growth and success.

Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141.

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Would You Rather Be Lucky or Good – A News Story Replay

News coverage and follow-up beget a replay.

Timing is everything in the marketplace.

After the March product announcement of PeriClean, a toothbrush designed to help people brush smarter for healthier gums, was published in Dental Products Report, the story was not posted in the online publication.

Every week or so, a quick website check, followed by a gentle email and/or phone message to the editor, kept the digital status of the article in play until it finally was published on the website in mid-April.

What a delightful surprise, then, to see the wrap-up of Top 5 new dental products for healthy gums in the online May issue included the PeriClean toothbrush!

Yes, it was lucky that the reporter focused on healthy gums and it was a good effort to have snagged the attention of Dental Products Report in the first place.

Perhaps it was killing the editor with kindness to get the product announcement online that made the replay of the news story happen.

In the trade-off between lucky and good, it’s polite persistence that wins.

You can improve your luck with news coverage simply by being more visible to reporters. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141.

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Maximizing the BIG Name

Maximize the impact with media coverage in advance.

You’ve worked hard to line up a BIG NAME at a fundraiser, so make the most of their participation — even before the date.

Build attendance by notifying the media a few weeks ahead and provide access to the principals of the event for quotes.

Falk Communications helped Staten Island Legal Services sell tickets to their first-ever fundraiser with articles announcing an award and its presenter in the local and legal press. Of course, after the luncheon, follow-up articles reported the remarks of past New York State Governor Mario Cuomo.

If you’d like to attract more supporters to your fundraising events, and also increase awareness of your group, consider the impact of a BIG NAME in generating media coverage. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141.

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Client Success Becomes a Case Study and Article

Turn a case study into media, marketing and promotion.

Everyone loves a success story: clients are ecstatic with the outcome, colleagues learn a lesson the easy way and you get the credit.

With the client’s permission, or referring to a generic identity (a cultural institution), draft a skeleton essay. State a theme and list three to five bullet points on the strategy, implementation and results of a recent client project that serves as an example of best practices.

Send this outline in an email to the editor of a relevant trade publication, and ask for the appropriate word count and deadline for an article.

After you’ve gotten the go-ahead, write the article to the required length and include your website URL and phone number in your one-sentence author’s bio.

Falk Communications helped Audrey Winkler of OMG! Organizational Management Group submit an article detailing a successful project. Upon publication, she extended her audience via X (Twitter) and LinkedIn activity, using a link to promote the article and her excellent results.

If you’d like to be recognized for your outstanding client success, I’d love to toot a horn for you. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141.

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How to Correct a News Article. Yes, You Can!

Correct a News Article’s Error

Ensure the right contact information is in the news.

Falk Communications helps clients get news coverage and, as needed, will ask reporters to fix errors and ensure the details are perfect.

When a trade magazine published an article online with a typo in the client’s email address, it was time for quick action.

In an email thanking the reporter for the great article, based on an interview arranged a week earlier, I highlighted the actual spelling of the email address and politely requested a correction.

While traveling in India, the reporter notified the appropriate colleague and the change was made within 24 hours.

Don’t be afraid to ask for a correction, especially in an easily fixed online format.

This is an example of how Falk Communications will get you in front of reporters and take care of the details – from start to finish. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 347.256.9141.

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Falk Speaks to NY 1 News

The key to a successful media interview is preparation.

Falk Communications encourages clients to write down three essential points to cover in a news interview.

With a list and examples of the issue, I was ready to speak to NY 1 News.

In the interview, I made sure to stick to those points.

Contact me; I will help you get and prepare for your next press interview.

Trade Magazine and Newsletter Articles Generate 800+ Phone Calls

HotelMore than 80% of hotel revenue is generated by credit card usage each year, so monitoring credit card transaction fees and charges should be a priority for hotel management.

Independent Merchant Group (IMG) reviewed the merchant services statements of two leading hotels and found:

  • unauthorized increases in transaction fees;
  • processing rates and fees that were above-average for the hotel industry;
  • incomplete and confusing terms in the statements.

IMG’s success in auditing the statements and restructuring the credit card processing agreements saved both hotels thousands of dollars; the company continues to monitor the statements to guard against fee changes.

This case study was presented to several hotel industry publications. Three articles on the topic of credit card processing fees generated more than 800 calls from hotel industry professionals. They were eager for IMG to review their credit card processing statements and potentially locate similar savings for them.

If IMG had purchased a list of hotel CFOs and contacted these executives by email and phone, would the company have received a similarly high volume of interest?

Online News Story Sparks Same-Day Settlement Phone Call from Defendant’s Attorney

To achieve progress on a sexual harassment case, the law firm Katz Melinger asked me to prepare a press release about the lawsuit and conduct media outreach. The goal was to put pressure on the attorneys representing the hosts and management of a top-rated cable television show, its production company and the network on which the show aired.

Broadcasting&Cable logoA leading broadcasting industry magazine published an article on its website. Perhaps advertisers, who are often skittish that adverse publicity might affect them also, contacted the network to voice their displeasure with this news.

In less than five hours, the attorney for a defendant contacted Katz Melinger.

Sometimes attorneys in a litigation case need to motivate opposing counsel representing a business. When unfavorable news stories lead that company’s customers to voice their concern and dismay about business practices, it often prompts defense counsel to respond.

TODAY Show Segment Nearly Doubles Website’s Traffic

Today_show_logoWhen a contributor to The TODAY Show mentioned at a social event that an upcoming segment would focus on trends combining gardens and technology, I suggested a website as an example. YardShare.com is a forum and social networking site for gardening enthusiasts to exchange tips, photos and ideas, an unusual combination of gardening and tech. She later interviewed Bryan Powell, founder of the website.

On the day the segment was broadcast, the number of visitors to the Yardshare.com website increased 92%, essentially doubled.

Timing is everything. A well-timed pitch, made to a reporter in a casual setting, may lead to a high-profile news story.

Attorney Speaks to CNBC on Presidential Candidate’s Proposal

CNBC_logo.svgPresidential candidate John McCain announced on the morning of June 23, 2008 that he would create a national competition to promote research on alternative automobile batteries.

Attorney James Greenberger had co-chaired a conference on the subject of alternative automobile batteries the month before; I asked him what he thought of McCain’s proposal and the state of industry research.

After quickly developing a snappy pitch, positioning Greenberger as an expert, I contacted auto industry reporters, a group I had not previously targeted. I presented him as a source on the hot topic.

He appeared on CNBC that afternoon.

Watch mid-morning news headlines for topics that related to your industry. Afternoon and evening news reporters may need sources to comment on those stories.

 

Action-oriented Articles Prompt Smith Barney Clients to Call Financial Advisors

StatementDialogues, a customized newsletter that financial advisors of Smith Barney ordered for their clients, featured four articles on diverse personal financial planning topics. I drafted more than 50 evergreen articles. These basic and timeless introductory nuggets were designed to prompt the reader to call or meet with their financial advisor to discuss the issues, themes and products described. The tone was open, informative and nominally pedagogical. With a maximum length of 195, 325 or 600 words, the financial advisor would mix and match articles selected from the catalog, consistent with the newsletter layout (two short, one medium, one long), either thematically linked (IRA) or on assorted topics (College, Estate, Mortgage).

When technical information needs to be accessible to the reader, especially about personal finance, snappy headlines with eye-catching phrases can make the difference and engage the client.